Oddjobs in Equestria
by Exanora
Summary: Part 2 of my adventures. Brought to you by the demands of my surprising number of fans.
1. Returns and Flirtations

I gave Berry and Rarity a kiss each as I held them close, taking in their scent, happy to be home, "Oh goddess, I missed you two so much." I walked over to the couch and sat down, Berry and Rarity quickly following me and hopping up on either side of me, "It was way too quiet out at the ruins. Well, not quiet, what with the fire and fighting and what not, but I missed the voices. The only company I had was my new friend there." I nodded towards the Ursa who was cautiously entering the house, sniffing at the door frame and stepping in slowly.

Rarity's eyes widened, "Um, John, dearest, what is that Ursa doing here?" I could feel her drawing herself closer to me, as did Berry.

I chuckled softly and leaned forward, holding my hand out, "I drained Discord's magic from it and it decided to follow me around." The Ursa growled happily as it pushed it's head into my hand, "Saved my life once actually," I started to scratch behind it's ears, "It woke me up when a bunch of Affected badger things were sneaking up on me as I was sleepin'." I smiled as the Ursa leaned against my legs, eyes half closed.

Berry cautiously put a hoof out and began to scratch it's back, "So, uh, what's its name?" She asked, stiffly petting it's back.

I tapped my chin with my free hand, "Huh," I looked down at it, "I dunno... How about Desmond?"

Rarity leaned forward and began scratching his neck with the tip of her hoof, "Desmond is a nice name." She leaned close to me, "Um, are you sure he's tame?"

"Nope." I replied, "But he doesn't seem too dangerous." I said as Desmond rolled onto his back, revealing a belly rub was in order, which I was quick to provide. Berry giggled softly as his leg began to twitch, "Just a big ol' ball o' spectral fluff aren't we Desmond?" We all laughed as he groaned happily, "Anyway, what is this news you wanted to break to me?" I asked looking at Rarity and Berry.

Rarity looked at Berry who nodded and looked at me, "Well, we talked to Sweetie Belle and Pinchy about this and they were fine with it, now we want to ask you: Would you mind if we moved in with you?"

I must have looked more surprised than I thought because Rarity started chipping in, "Understand John, I've been meaning to find a new house for a while. I've wanted to expand the Boutique to the second floor because I've been getting so much business recently."

Berry nodded, "And Pinchy needs a father figure and she already likes you a lot."

I held my hands up, much to the dismay of Desmond who huffed, waddled over to a carpet and plopped himself down, "Girls, relax, alright?" I smiled and put my arms around each of them, "I would love to have you guys live here," They visibly relaxed, "Only thing I'd have to do is expand the house, probably add a second floor to add space for the girls..." I trailed off as I began to ponder the necessary redesign of my home, "Either way," I said, shaking my head a bit, "I'll need to pick up my reward from the Princesses first, so I'll probably run up to Canterlot tomorrow."

Berry nodded, "I'll go with you, I have to drop off my latest review to my editor and her office if close to the castle."

Rarity hopped off the couch and stretched, "Well, it sounds as if we have a plan." She turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling, "I'm sure you'll let me decorate the second floor when it's done?"

I chuckled, "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." She trotted off, giggling. I sighed, smirked, and stood up, stretching out and wincing a bit as my sore wounds acted up again. The next hour was spent eating a pleasant, if slightly late, lunch and welcoming the Crusaders and Pinchy into the house as they climbed all over me in happiness and demanded stories of my adventures. Desmond wandered in and the fillies got wound up farther and began playing with him with a vigor that only children could have. I was concerned for a second, but Desmond seemed to give in and let the little fillies down what they wanted, so I breathed a small sigh of relief.

Their was still some time left in the day, so I decided to check in on Twilight and her progress on my mysterious arrival, "Hey y'all," I shouted as I walked to the front door, "I'll be back in a bit!" I heard general noises of consent and walked out, sighing contentedly as I headed towards the tree that was Twilight's home.

"Oh? You're back." Said a quiet voice behind me. I turned and saw Fluttershy with bags filled with various foods on her back, "How was your trip?" She asked, falling into step beside me.

I shrugged, "Successful, but I won't get into details." She nodded, understanding that I didn't want to divulge "interactions" with the local wildlife, "What brings you to this neck of Ponyville Fluttershy?" I asked.

She gestured to her bags, "I was picking up some groceries at the market nearby." She smiled and looked up at me, "What about you? I thought you would want to rest at home after you got back."

I chuckled, "I was going to, but I wanted to stop in a check in on stuff with Twilight," I tapped my chin, "I also need to send a message to the Princesses and let them know I'm done. It'd be best if they got to renovating the ruins as soon as possible, to prevent any critters from moving back in."

Fluttershy nodded again, "That makes sense. Did you find anything interesting while you were there?" She asked as the library came into sight.

"Not really. I've got a new pet though." I replied.

Her eyes glittered, "What kind of pet?"

I knocked on the door, "An Ursa."

"Oh that's ni-" Twilight opened the door, "Wait, a what?" Fluttershy seemed a bit gobsmacked.

I smirked, "An Ursa." I turned to Twilight, "Hey Twilight, I'm back." I smiled, "Decided to drop on by to check in on you and send a message to the Princesses."

Twilight stepped aside, welcoming Fluttershy and me in, "Good to see you back John, I'm sure Celestia will be happy to hear back from you."

I smirked, "I'm sure Luna will be happier since she'll be getting the letter first." I chuckled softly as Twilight's jaw dropped, "Either way, I've got to tell them that and I figured you'd like to know I'm alive, if a bit injured." I nodded to Fluttershy, "Thanks for packin that first aid kit in my bag, by the way, saved me a lot of probable infection."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, head tilted.

"Oh yeah, you didn't see my injuries..." I mumbled, taking off my hoodie and shirt, revealing my bandaged upper torso, "My arms are all scratched up and I've got a pretty big gash on my back."

Fluttershy gasped and started poking my back, checking the bandages, "Oh my, oh my, oh my..." She stopped, "You had these treated?" Fluttershy asked.

I nodded, "I stopped by Zecora's place before I got into town and she patched me up and then offered to sleep with me." I said, pulling my clothes back on, "What?" I asked, seeing the bright red faces of Twilight and Fluttershy.

Twilight shook her head and wandered over to a bookshelf and magicked down a journal, "Nevermind," she said quickly, "I do have some news about your appearance here though."

I sat down and crossed my arms, "Enlighten me Sparkle."

Twilight smiled and propped the book open with her magic, "Well, it would seem that it was the result of a summoning spell, probably gone wrong, which brought you here." She lowered the book and looked me in the eye, "The fact that you got here in one piece is a miracle in itself."

I nodded, "Any idea who summoned me?"

She shook her head, "Unfortunately no. Like I said, it was probably a mistake that you were brought here since inter-dimensional summoning is, at the best of times, a theory."

I sighed heavily and leaned back, "Shit." I muttered softly. I might have felt at home with Rarity and Berry, but I would like to see my old home again. Fluttershy leaned against me comfortingly, "Well, let me write a quick letter out, then I can finish this letter on a happier note, alright?" I smiled sadly as Twilight grabbed a quill, ink bottle, and some parchment. I jotted down a short note saying that I was back, the ruins were safe and ready to be worked on, "There." I watched Twilight seal it up with some ribbon and wax, "And now for good news!" I said, smiling, "Berry and Rarity have decided to move in with me!" I heard a soft thumping noise coming from the stairs and turned to see a very upset looking Spike glaring daggers at me, "Oh no..." I said softly, "Spike, hold on-" I began, standing up.

"NO!" He shouted, a small green flame coming from his mouth, "She's a beautiful lady and she's refined and..." He was tearing up, clenching his little hands into fists.

"Spike..." I said softly.

"SHUT UP!" He shouted, "THE ONLY REASON SHE'S THINKS YOU'RE INTERESTING IS BECAUSE YOU'RE A FREAK!" He yelled, spitting a stream of fire at me before running upstairs. I was easily able to redirect the flame and quickly put it out, though I still felt a little hurt on the inside.

"SPIKE!" Twilight shouted angrily as he ran up the stairs, "You come back and apologize right now!" She demanded, stomping a hoof.

I put a hand on Twilight's head, "Its fine," I ruffled her hair, "Anyway, I'm headed back home for the night. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" I said, not waiting for a reply as I stood up. I paused by Fluttershy and put a hand on her neck, "Hey, you know him better than I do, try to help him out a bit?" I smiled softly and walked outside, again not waiting for a response. I heard a slight protest from the two mares as I stepped outside, but I blocked them out and pulled my hood up over my head, exhaling and looking towards the sunset. Sunsets always have a way of making things seem more dramatic, even if its just silly, or so I think. I sighed and walked aimlessly for a bit, not totally looking where I was going.

"Oh drat..." I heard someone mutter off to my side. I glanced towards the source of the voice and saw a gray pony struggling with a large case of some sort, though I couldn't tell much else with the light fading.

I walked over to the struggling mare, "Hey," I said, holding a hand up, "Need some help?" I asked, noting the treble cleft cutie mark and pink bowtie. This could only be Octavia, Equestria's double bass master.

"Yes, thank you, it would be much appr-" She paused as she looked at me, "...appreciated." She finished slowly.

I picked up, what was revealed to be, the instrument case and smirked, "Bet I'm a little odd lookin to you, yeah?" I chuckled softly, "Eh, I'm used to that look now. Where are we bringin' this?" I asked, shrugging the instrument over my shoulder.

Octavia was silent for a moment before turning and nodding down the street, "There's a small inn where I've been staying for a while down this way." She began walking at a leisurely place, "So, what do I call you?" She asked, looking at me as I fell into step beside her.

"John." I replied, "My turn to ask a question: What's a famous musician like Octavia von Clef doing in a town like Ponyville?" I asked, smirking at her surprised reaction.

"How do you know my name?" She demanded, stopping and stomping a hoof.

I smiled softly, "I know a lot of things and a lot of ponies." I walked up to her and crouched down in front of her, "Listen Octavia, if I was going to do anything bad, I probably would have done it already, yeah?" She relaxed a bit and I smiled again, "Y'know, I've always thought the bowtie was a cute little thing of yours." I laughed as she fumbled for words, "So, you haven't answered my question yet."

She began to walk again, glaring at me out of the corner of her eye, "I was arranging for a duet with Lyra." She said, huffing slightly, "While we may argue about who is better overall, we both know that we are unmatched in our respective instruments." I could see a slightly haughty smile crawl onto her face, "We are to play for the Canterlot Royal Court tomorrow."

I raised my eyebrows, mildly surprised, "Impressive." I smiled softly, "I've got business with the Princesses tomorrow, maybe I'll see you there."

Octavia stopped again and looked at me in disbelief, "Y-y-you have a meeting with the Princesses, Celestia and Luna, tomorrow, in person?" She asked slowly.

I nodded, "I agreed to do a job for them." I shrugged and nudged her flank with my foot so we could keep walking, "They gave me their blessings, a house here in town, and I've got a fifty thousand bit reward waiting for me when I get there." We kept walking, but Octavia was just looking at me like I had just sprouted a second set of limbs, "What?"

She shook her head and looked down as we neared a quaint little building, "Just... It's impressive is all." We got to the door and she turned and faced me, "Forgive me if this sounds forward, but could I tempt you to join me for a glass of wine?" She asked, smiling.

I chuckled softly, "Aren't you supposed to buy me dinner first?"

She blushed softly and looked away, "It's simply some wine, nothing more." She mumbled.

I put a hand on her head and smiled, "I'd love to share some wine with you Octavia." I opened the door and let her by. I stared at the ceiling as she went up to the front desk and left a wake-up call for herself, then followed as she walked over to the stairs and up them. She went to her room and pushed the door open, making me question why there wasn't a lock, but I just chalked it up to natural pony trustworthiness. I went inside the room, a modest affair that could be found in any generic hotel or inn, and placed the double bass on the bed, careful not to be too rough. I heard the tinkling of glasses and turned to see Octavia popping open a bottle and pouring its contents into a pair of wine glasses. I sat down beside her on the couch and took the glass with a smile, tapping it's rim against her glass. It was nice as I sat there and drank with her. She asked me about my history from when I got to Equestria up to what I did today, seeming mildly surprised as my adventures unfolded. I smirked as I saw her blush when I told her about my encounters with Berry, Rarity, and Zecora. Octavia asked me to show off my magic a bit, which I was more than happy to do, pulling a flame from a nearby candle and having it float around and change shape.

The bottle was eventually empty and I stood up, swaying slightly as I did so, "Well Octavia," I said, smiling, "This was a pleasure."

She nodded, "It was." She stood up as well, leaning against me slightly, "You smell good." She slurred, smiling up at me.

I laughed softly and guided her to bed, figuring her consumption of most of the bottle lent to her sudden complimentary attitude, "Thanks Octavia." WE walked over to the door and turned to look at each other, "Dream well, yeah?" I said, putting an affectionate hand on her head.

She nodded again, then looked down and rubbed one of her front hooves against the other, "Hey John?" She began.

I raised my eyebrows slightly, "Yeah, what?" I asked.

"Ummm..." She looked up at me with an awkward smile, "Look me up when you're done with the Princesses tomorrow?" She was blushing hard enough to make her ears red.

I smiled playfully, "Octavia von Clef, are you hitting on me?"

"N-no!" She quickly replied, "I-I thought you'd like to hear me play is all..." She pouted slightly and looked away.

I laughed softly and ruffled her mane, "I'll be sure to see you as soon as I'm done Octavia, promise." I turned and waved, "Night."

"Good night John." She said behind me, closing the door. I hummed softly as I placed the Locator Stone against my forehead and thought of my house, more than happy to let it guide my way, rather than try to find my way through Ponyville at night. I was able to find my way home without incident, opening the door quietly and peering inside, seeing Pinchy and the Crusaders playing a board game of some sort while Rarity and Berry were in the kitchen cooking and chatting with each other and Desmond was asleep in front of the fireplace.

"Hey y'all, I'm back." I said as I stepped inside, taking my shoes off and putting them beside the door, "What'd I miss?"

The girls just waved from their game, concentrating intensely as only children could on such a matter. Desmond open his eyes and waddled his way over, leaning against my leg and growling affectionately, walking beside me as I went over to the kitchen and kissed Rarity and Berry on their respective cheeks.

Rarity giggled softly, "Did you have a good time visiting Twilight?"

I shrugged and got a glass of water, "It had its ups and downs."

Berry frowned slightly, "What happened?" She asked.

I sighed and leaned against the counter, "Well, Twilight said my coming here was a major fluke, so she doesn't know a specific cause for it." I rubbed the back of my neck, "And when I told her and Fluttershy about you moving in with me, Spike overheard, so he's kinda mad."

Rarity frowned and sighed, "Oh dear, I had hoped to tell him myself, the poor dear."

I put an arm around her and smiled, "He'll be alright dear. He's just going to need some time."

Berry came over and sniffed me, "Why do you smell like wine?" She asked.

I smirked, "Chance encounter led to some wine consumption." I replied, chuckling at the look Berry gave me, "Fine, fine. I ran into Octavia von Clef when I was walking and she was having some trouble carrying her instrument, so I offered to help."

Rarity snuggled into my side, "Always the gentlecolt, aren't we?" She said.

I chuckled and Berry giggled, "GentleMAN, is more accurate, but its whatever." I nuzzled Berry's neck, "Anyway, she mentioned how she was heading to Canterlot tomorrow, I mentioned how I had a meetin with the Princesses tomorrow, we started talking and my natural charm and good looks led to her asking me up to her room for some wine." I shrugged, "And now she wants me to go to her show tomorrow when I'm done with the Princesses. Though, if you ask me, she just wants some hot Johnny lovin'." I laughed softly.

Berry suddenly came up to me and gave my a kiss, forcing her tongue into my mouth. I would have protested, but she was done as suddenly as she had begun, "Hmm," She tapped a hoof against her chin, "Well, she picked a good year." She said, matter-of-factly, "Definitely likes you to say the least, given the quality of the wine."

Once I found use of my tongue I spoke, "That doesn't bother you?" I said, looking at Berry and Rarity, "Like, at all?"  
>Rarity shrugged a bit and got back to stirring something in a pot with her magic, "Well John, as I told you, many of us have learned to share." She smiled at me, "The idea of proliferation is encouraged among any males who haven't been snatched up by the guard yet, so what you had in mind isn't unusual. Quite the opposite really." Rarity flicked my nose with her tail and began doling out soup into some bowls.<p>

Berry nudged my side with her flank, "Though Rarity an I would like to get a piece of you before she does, if you catch my drift." She winked at me as Rarity began to furiously blush.

"Berry!" Rarity snapped, "That is entirely inappropriate!"

Berry smiled, "But true." She replied, sticking her tongue out.

"Not the point!" Rarity said, blushing a deeper red.

I laughed as they went back and forth, "Perhaps tonight we can solve that, yeah?" I muttered softly into their ears. They both got quiet and blushed, making me chuckle as I grabbed a couple of bowls, bringing them to the young ones who were more than happy to stick their faces in and begin eating. I grabbed a spoon and began to eat my portion while Rarity and Berry did the same with theirs. Desmond seemed more than happy to stick his head in the pot and finish off any leftovers that had been forgotten, causing me to chuckle softly. After the dishes were cleaned the girls decided to play with me for an hour or so before they all went to bed. As if reading my thoughts, Rarity came out with three wine glasses while Berry followed with two bottles of wine. The bottles were opened and we drank, flirted, and talked. I even mentioned how Zecora seemed to have an interest in me, causing Rarity to blush while Berry admitted to having wanted to try and see what Zecora would be like in bed. I laughed hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, then we all drank and flirted some more, eventually leading to them dragging me into the master bedroom, cheeks flushed red with wine and excitement. I won't get into details, but it certainly became a night to remember.

(Hello reader(s)! Well, so we begin part 2 of my adventuring, joy.

Anywho, I wanted to make this special, so, I decided that what occurs in the following chapters will be determined by what you guys want!

If you want to see something in my story, write a review and put in your request. If it is reasonable, I'll try to fit it in, if its just stupid, I won't, simple as that.

Either way I'll keep writing until I feel this arc is done, so peace for now!

-Exanora a.k.a. John)


	2. A Tutor and a Light Show

I woke up amidst a pile of sheets and pony hair in my face. Sluggishly, I sat up and rubbed my eyes as the light struck them, grumbling slightly. Once my morning induced blindness faded away, I looked down to my side to see Berry asleep on her back, snoring softly, so it was safe to assume she wouldn't be heading to Canterlot anytime soon. I smiled and looked to my other side and saw Rarity, her hair in a state of chaos, but, given last night, it was to be expected. I got up out of bed and stretched, cracking my various joint, then hopped in the shower and got clean so I could meet the Princesses in a proper state. Once I was squeaky clean and dressed, I grabbed a quick breakfast, left a note for everyone so they would know I was out on royal business, along with an apology to Berry, then stepped outside as quietly as possible. I pulled on my gloves and meandered towards Twilight's house, hoping she could arrange a ride for me to get to Canterlot in a timely fashion.

"John?" Said a voice behind me. I turned and saw the speaker was a pegasus Guard, "You are John, correct?"

I smirked, "Have you seen anything else that looks like me?"

He didn't laugh, "Please follow me, Princess Celestia has sent a carriage to bring you to the castle." He said, gesturing to a chariot like affair behind him.

I nodded and bowed slightly, "Thank you very much." He nodded in return and stepped into the harness while I stepped into the chariot bit. He took off quickly and, in a matter of moments, we were flying over the landscape and towards the Royal Palace. He didn't seem a talker, so I didn't bother trying to start conversation, instead entertaining myself by making a few sparks and forming them into various shapes. It wasn't the most exciting trip I've ever taken, but it was mercifully short, given that I was flying and I was thankful for that fact.

A while later, the pegasus touched down in front of the castle and I hopped off, "Thanks." I said. He nodded and flew off, probably to store the chariot away where it was meant to be stored. Or maybe where it wasn't meant to be stored, I didn't know, nor did I care too much. I walked into the castle and quickly found myself flanked by a large earth pony Guard. I cocked my eyebrow and he just gestured for me to follow him as he began walking down the massive hallway. I shrugged and followed, electing, again, to not speak, as the Royal Guard did not seem the talkative sort. He led me through a myriad of halls and passages until I was, once again, in front of the Throne Room. He opened one of the doors and motioned for me to step through, which I did with a nod of thanks. I walked up in front of the two thrones, in which sat Celestia and Luna, then knelt to one knee and waited for them to speak.

"We received your letter John." Celestia said, "I must say, it is impressive that you were able to finish in such a short time."

I stood up and smiled, "You flatter me Princess." I shrugged, "It wasn't too terrible in all honesty, just lonely,even when my new pet Desmond started hanging out with me."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "Desmond?" She asked. Celestia seemed to share in Luna's confusion.

"Yeah, Desmond. He's an Ursa that I cured and he decided to hang out with me out of gratitude or something." I shrugged again, "I dunno."

Their eyes widened, "You were able to tame a wild Ursa?"

I tapped my chin, "Ummm, in a sense I guess, why?" I asked.

Celestia took a second to regain her composure, "John, Ursa are famous for being wild and uncontrollable under the best of circumstances. You claim to have tamed one into being your pet?" She asked, looking me straight in the eye.

"Well yeah," I replied, "Unless wanting belly rubs and suffering the playfulness of four very active fillies is listed under Wild and Uncontrollable."

Luna snickered as Celestia flushed, "Regardless of your new pet," Said Luna as Celestia pouted slightly, "You have seized our old home and for that, we are grateful." Both she and Celestia dipped their heads towards me, "Now, I'm sure you are eager to get your reward."

I smirked, "You know me well."

Luna smiled, "A majority of it has been sent to your home, as carrying that much on your person would be difficult to say the least."

I bowed at the waist, "Thank you Princess."

Celestia smiled softly at my formality, "I'm sure you are eager to return home to your loved ones."

"Actually," I began, scratching the back of my neck, "I was hoping to see Octavia von Clef play today."

Luna raised her eyebrows slightly, "You know of her concert?"

I smiled, "She invited me to see her play after we shared some wine."

Celestia blushed slightly and coughed while Luna laughed, "Oh my," She said, brushing away a tear, "John, you are certainly a marvel." She turned to Celestia, "I say we bring him with us 'Tia. We were going to go after we finished with him anyway, might as well take him along."

Celestia regained her composure and nodded, "That sounds like a wonderful idea Luna." She and Luna stood up and descended from their thrones, "John, if it pleases you, would you follow us?"

I bowed again, "It would be an honor." I replied, smiling softly. I got into step between the two Princesses as they headed down another hallway, "So," I said, after a minute of quiet, "Tia, was it?" I finished with a devious smile.

Luna giggled as Celestia huffed and pouted, "Oh relax Tia, it's not a terrible nickname." Said Luna, smiling.

Celestia grinned, "I guess not... Lu-Lu." Luna sputtered and pouted in a manner similar to Celestia, while I just walked between the two of them and chuckled. We came to a large room that could only be described as a small hangar, given the two or three teams of pegasi that were wandering near the row of royal carriages, each of which was larger than the last.

A guard pegasus came up to us almost immediately, hoof to his head in salute, "How may we serve you today?" He asked, standing stiffly.

Celestia smiled a soft, motherly smile, "Please prepare the three seated carriage, we are headed to the symphony hall on the other side of Canterlot." The pegasus nodded and quickly barked out a series of orders to the pegasi wandering about, who responded as quickly as he gave the orders.

I nudged Luna as Celestia began to walk forward, "I know as well as you do that you could just magic us over there." I nodded at the carriage preparation, "So, why all this?"

Luna sighed and smiled a tired smile, "Yeah, we could just teleport over," She began walking and I walked beside her, "But the common pony enjoys all the pomp and ceremony," She shrugged, "So Celestia and I tolerate the minor inconveniences in order to make everypony happy."

I nodded, "Understandable." We came up to the carriage with three seats, the two on the sides set higher than the one in the middle, "Though I have to imagine it sucks not being able to stretch your magical muscle outside of solar/lunar management."

Luna nodded as she sat in the right side seat, "On occasion, yes." She smirked, "Now, I'm not saying that raising the moon is an easy job," She sighed softly, "But I've grown used to it, so it does not tax me as it should." She stared wistfully outside as the pegasi got into their harnesses.

"Here's an idea," I said as Celestia sat down on my left, causing them both to look at me, "How about you teach me magic?"

Celestia's eyebrows rose, Luna began to tap her chin, and the carriage took off, flying southward, "John, you can;t be serious." Celestia said, her voice oozing disbelief.

I shrugged, "And why not?" I held up a hand as she started to protest, "Now I'm not saying that I want to learn all sorts of crazy magic like Twilight,but I would like to learn how to control stuff other than fire."

Luna looked at me evenly, "Like what? And why?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Well, stone, water and air come to mind," I replied, "And mostly because I like to be ready for any situation. Don't get me wrong, fire is awesome, but I can imagine that it would be too much for a situation that requires delicacy. And it is difficult to find at times, since I cant summon my own fire, so having other options would be nice."

Celestia sighed, "John, while your reasons are sound, we simply cannot-"

"Sure, I'll teach you." Luna said, cutting Celestia off midsentence.

Celestia glanced at Luna with a cold royal stare, "Luna, are you sure?" She asked slowly, "You have only just returned yourself."

Luna nodded and ruffled my hair with a hoof, "You have a student, so I figure it would only be fair for me to have one as well." I batted her hoof away, "Besides, it would give both him and myself something to do." Celestia looked like she was going to protest, "Tia, face it, you handle all court matters now, all I do is sit beside you and find myself with nothing to do." She patted the top of my head, "I could use a hobby like this."

I pouted, "So I'm just a hobby?"

Celestia ignored my comment, "Well Luna, if you truly wish to do this..."

Luna smiled and nodded, "I do Celestia,I really do."

Celestia smiled her motherly smile again, "Alright, you can teach him."

I was tired of being ignored, "Did I mention that a number of your subjects want me to bang them?" The resulting shrieks and startled flailing caused the pegasi pulling the carriage to drop a few dozen feet.

While I was busy clinging for dear life, Luna regained some measure of composure, "Alright... WHAT?" She said, shaking me as best she could while I was latched to a chair.

I shakily sat down properly, "Damn near pissed myself..." I mumbled softly, "Anyway, I am apparently attractive to a number of ponies. Enough so that they want to sleep with me," I chuckled softly, "A couple of which already have."

Celestia seemed resigned to the fact that her face would be red forever, while Luna looked at me with wide eyes, "Really?" She asked.

I nodded and looked over the side of the carriage, "Hey look, we're at the Symphony Hall." I said, basing my statement on the fact that we were descending towards the front of an ornate building. After a moment, we touched down to the ground and the Princesses stepped off gracefully and in all their grandeur. I was slightly humbled as I walked between them towards the entrance of the hall, ponies bowing on either side as they passed. An earth pony in a red vest came up to us and bowed, then offered to lead us to our seats, giving me and my clawed gloves a questioning look before turning and leading us down a long, carpeted hallway. I whistled softly as we passed by elaborately carved doorways, admiring the decorations adorning the walls.

The vested pony (hereby known as Vesty) opened a door that led to an ornate box that had two magnificent chair and one slightly less magnificent chair in between the two better ones. I cocked an eyebrow, impressed at how quickly the staff had reacted to my presence. Vesty bowed and gestured for us to pass through the door, which we did with small nods of thanks. I took the middle seat while Celestia and Luna sat on either side of me, then looked around, admiring the enormity of the place.

Celestia talked to another Vesty, then looked at me, "John, would you like anything to eat or drink?"

I scratched my ear, "Umm, fruit salad and some water I guess." I shrugged, kinda caught off-guard.

Celestia relayed my order, along with Luna's, and smiled at the Vesty as they left.

I looked down and saw that the main seating area was only slightly filled with what I could only assume were nobles and the like, given the fact that there was a ridiculous number of monocles being worn. Looking towards the stage, I saw the orchestra pit was slowly filling with a number of ponies with various instruments, while the stage itself was curtained off. I cocked my eyebrow, but quickly justified their presence as one of two things: One, Octavia and Lyra each had a solo. Two, the ponies in the pit were only there for musical support in the background. Either way, I was eager to hear Octavia play and I pulled my chair closer to the railing in order to see her better. I heard Celestia and Luna muttering to each other softly behind me, thanking the Vesty who brought us our snacks, then returning to their mutters, all while I watched over the audience and orchestra pit, quietly observing their behavior.

Not a moment too soon, the curtain rose, revealing Octavia, Lyra, a pony with a flute, another with a tuba/sousaphone (I can't tell the difference), and, to my surprise, Vinyl Scratch. I leaned back, cocked my eyebrow, and waited for the show to begin. The lights dimmed and the quiet hum of voices was silenced, the hall so quiet I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Then came that note, that first glorious sound of Octavia drawing her bow across the strings. It was clear, strong, and low, cause bumps to appear on my skin and my hairs to stand up straight, it was hauntingly pure. Then came the tuba, low, powerful, nearly primal in its sound, yet it blended in beautifully as the crystal wail continued to emanate from Octavia's double bass. Lyra and the pony with the flute came in next, with short, quick notes, like drops of water in a lake of crystal, and behind all of them was the orchestra, slowly but surely building in volume. And as they all came together, Vinyl scratched a record, cutting through their sound, but in a precise, surgical way that made it all the better.

I quickly found myself lost in the sound, my eyes closed, my hands up and fingers twitching in time to the music, images of color, waves, ripples, and warps filling my mind. Each sound, each instrument was like unto a color in my mind, each variant in sound a texture, and yeah, I am aware that this may sound crazy to some of those, if any, who are reading this, but sound is a big thing to me, so stuff it. I continued my mental imaging, my fingering twitching with the music when I heard small gasps coming from the audience, the Princesses included, but I ignored it, delving further into the sounds and mental colorations in my mind. I continued to lose myself in the music as it went on, each instrument adding more to the sight in my mind.

I felt a hoof on my shoulder, "John," Luna muttered into my ear, "What are you doing?"

I mentally surfaced, but kept my eyes closed, "Enjoying the music, why?" I mumbled.

I could feel her looking at me, "Open your eyes John." She ordered softly. I sighed and did as she asked, blinking away the blurriness, then cocking an eyebrow at the sight before me. What I saw was comparable to an aurora only, as it would seem, I was controlling it. Or I could assume I was anyway, given that it looked exactly like my mental picture did. I gave an experimental mental flick and saw it ripple, making me smile.

I chuckled softly and glanced over at Luna, "Well, this is interesting isn't it?" I said softly, more to myself than anyone in particular, continuing the light show. It went on for the next two hours as the concert went on, my motions more exaggerated as the patterns became more and more complex and abstract,especially during Octavia and Lyra's duet, letting the lights just fade away as the orchestra died down.

Applause came from the audience as Celestia put a hoof on my shoulder, "Come along John." She said, walking out the door behind us. I nodded and followed her out, Luna behind me.

We began walking down the hall, "So," I began, "That was neat."

Celestia pondered for a second, "I'll admit, it was certainly pretty," She began slowly, "But it also presents a problem."

I raised my eyebrow as we descended some stairs, "Problem?" I questioned.

Luna came up beside me, "It shows that, while you have impeccable control of your magical abilities, it can also appear without you being conscious of it." She flicked the back of my head with her tail, star, thing, "Needless to say, that is not a good thing, so it will be the first thing we will address when your training starts."

I twirled my finger and rolled my eyes, "Woo-hoo." I ducked, dodging another flick to the back of my head, "Where are we going anyway?" I asked, noting the change from luxury to industry as we started walking down a cold cement hallway.

"As a custom, Luna and I usually go backstage and talk with the musicians after a show." Celestia said, shrugging, "It also allows you to speak with Octavia." She finished with a smirk. I chuckled softly and followed them behind a curtain, entering a room with a high-ceiling and lots in instruments. Many of the ponies began to crowd the Princesses, bowing and asking if they liked the show, so I quickly weaved through the crowd and wandered toward Octavia, who was putting her instrument away.

I leaned against a small table, "You were incredible out there." I said, causing her to jump a bit, then turn around and glare at me.

"Hasn't your mother told you it's rude to sneak up on a pony?" She said, smiling as she locked up her case.

I chuckled softly, "No, usually she was busy trying to find out where I went." I came up behind Octavia and draped myself over her shoulders, "So, whatcha wanna do?" I said, yawning a bit.

She giggled and patted my head, "Well, how about you, me, and Vinyl go to my house and drink a bit? I'm sure she'd love to see you again."

I smiled coyly, "Oh, were you two going out anyway?" She looked away and I stood up, "Well I wouldn't want to interrupt your daaate." I spun around and snickered.

"It's not a date!" She snapped. I could hear her blushing behind me, thats how bad it was.

"Aww, Octy, and here I thought I was going to get some after date fun." Said a husky voice. I turned and saw Vinyl Scratch prodding Octavia with a troll smile, "Well, well, well," she said, seeing me, "If it isn't Johnny Sanguine, party beast extraordinaire." She and I shared a quick hoof/fist bump, "What're you doin' here?" She glanced my clawed gloves, "And whats up with the new arsenal?"

I chuckled and nodded towards an exit, "I'll tell you while we walk, but lets get out of here." I absently waved a hand behind me, "I'm not one for formal crowds." Vinyl and Octavia nodded, turning and walking towards the exit. I turned around, summoned a few sparks, then shot them up into the air, earning the attention of Luna. I quickly gestured that I was leaving and she nodded, waving goodbye with a wing. I trotted over to Octavia and Vinyl, following them out the door and taking a deep breath of the early night air. As we walked, I described my job to Vinyl, who was looking at me with astonishment, as far as I could tell, given that her glasses took up most of her face. By the time I had finished, we were, conveniently, outside of Octavia's house. She opened the door and led me and Vinyl to a sitting room, then excused herself as she went off to get a bottle of wine for us all to drink.

I sat in a big fluffy chair, "So," I said, looking at the DJ, "You and Octavia already had plans?" I asked, raising my eyebrow and smiling.

Vinyl giggled, "Yeah, but it's not what you think." My other eyebrow went up, "See, she and I have been doin' shows together for a while now and we've always had a drink together when we finish."

I nodded, "Ah, well that explains it then." I smiled playfully, "You still want to get that classical pony flank though."

Vinyl laughed, "Hey, isn't that what you came here for?" She accused with a smile.

I shrugged and put on an innocent face, "Not at all," I grinned, "Though I wouldn't say no if the situation were to occur."

Vinyl laughed again and lifted her glasses, resting them atop her horn, "I knew I liked you for some reason." She said, her scarlet eyes glittering with mischief.

I paused for a moment as I saw her eyes, "Y'know, you have really beautiful eyes Vinyl." I said, smiling softly. She blushed and looked away, but I could see her smiling at my compliment. Octavia came in then, pushing a small trolley that held a bottle of wine and some glasses. Out of respect for Vinyl, Octavia, and myself, I'm going to skip over the next few hours and go ahead to the point where I let myself out, wearing a smile, and headed towards the symphony hall, hoping to find Luna or Celestia so I could get a ride home. It was starting to get pretty late, so I didn't hold much hope, but I thought it wise to try anyway.

"Hey there John." said a familiar voice. I turned to the source and saw Berry walking out of a small building, "You look like you had a busy day." She said with a smirk.

I chuckled softly, "What are you doing here babe?" I asked, walking beside her, the sound of her hoofs on stone the only thing echoing around us.

She gave a tired sigh, "Ugh, I had to spend all day with my editor because she didn't like how I worded my review."

I patted her head, "Sorry to hear that." I looked around, "Ugh, it's gonna be a long walk home..." I muttered.

Berry giggled softly and leaned against me as we walked, "The only walk we'll have to do is to the train station." She saw my eyebrow cock, "It goes from here to Ponyville, so we won't have to walk."

I sighed in relief, then we walked towards the train station while we shared how our days went. Berry complained about her editor, then I told her about the concert and my light show. She gave me a pervy smile when I mentioned my after show activities with Octavia and Vinyl, expressing her approval.

By this point, she and I were comfortably seated on the train which had just started chugging merrily down the track, "Y'know," Berry began, a hungry look in her eyes, "On these night rides, they let riders get away with almost anything." She raised her eyebrow suggestively.

I looked at her, then at the door behind her, then sighed, "There is no way for me to get out of this, is there?" I said, more than asked.

"Nope." She replied, placing her hooves on my shoulders.

They say time flies when you're having fun, and we arrived in Ponyville after what could have only been minutes, "You are determined," I said with a grimace, "On breaking me, aren't you?" I gave Berry a slight glare.

She was happily trotting beside me, "Pretty much!" She replied brightly. I sighed and smiled wearily, leaning against her for support as we headed home. We got there and Rarity demanded to know what took us so long, which lead into an explanation of each of our days, my day causing her white coat to turn a bright scarlet color, which soon turned maroon as Berry described out railroad escapades. This then led to Rarity dragging me off the the bedroom, demanding compensation, all while I had tears in my eyes. By the time I was actually going to sleep, I could hear my hips crying in pain. I had to tune down the animal magnetism, otherwise I was going to end my days in Equestria with broken hips.

((Hello reader(s)! Author here with a note for y'all! Also, yes this chapter was heavy with implied sex, but that's what spawned from the process of writing this story. I will do my best to tone it down, but if it calls for it, I will include it. No, I will not write a separate story describing what happened in detail, that would be weird. Maybe if I was commissioned, but I'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

Ok, note, part 1: I have a crazy idea, but I need fanart that relates to my story so, if any of you are artistic, I'd love to see you guys draw/paint/create some fanart for this story of mine!

Part deus: I have a Skype and would love to talk to anyone who is a fan of my story, so look for me! My skype name is exanora1 and I'm from Maryland. If you want to add me, just leave me a note to the effect of you being a fan of my story.

Part Tres: Again, I'm always willing to read and consider any and all ideas you guys/girls may have, so keep sending them in!

-John a.k.a. Exanora))


	3. SABOTEUR!

((Crude, rude chapter there. Oh well, that's what happens in the world of fanfiction. Sadly, I didn't receive as many responses as I would've liked, meaning I got a total of NONE, but c'est la vie. Anywho, NEXT CHAPTAAAAHHHHH!))

I woke up to a note from Berry and Rarity, "Dear John,

We'll be out for most of the day as Sweetie Belle and Pinchy are having "Family Appreciation Day." We should all be back sometime late in the afternoon, so don't get into any trouble while we're out. The girls also decided to take Desmond so they can show him off during recess, so don't worry."

-Berry/Rarity"

I sighed softly and looked out the window, noting the position of the sun. It had to be around late morning, so I wouldn't hear from either of them for a good number of hours. As I cleaned myself and got dressed, tucked my gloves into a pocket, I realized something: I had no plans. I prepped myself a simple breakfast and toyed around with some ideas. I glanced over at the door and saw two large bags sitting beside it, bags that were probably filled with bits, courtesy of the Princesses. I decided to head over to Twilight's to see if she knew any construction companies. It was a good time to start construction of the second floor, and it wouldn't require much other than basic amenities, since Rarity was going to spearhead the decorating part of the project. Content with my choice of plans for the day, I made a quick trip to Twilight's house and knocked on the door.

I was more than a little relieved when it was Twilight who answered the door, "John!" Twilight said with a smile, "Its good to see you, what brings you here?" She asked, stepping aside and inviting me in.

I smiled softly and nodded, "I was hoping you could recommend some ponies to add a second floor to my house." I sat down in a nearby chair and watched Twilight as she paced and pondered.

"Hmmm, actually," She trotted over to a desk and used her magic to pull out a small address book, pencil, and a couple sheets of parchment, "I do know a few who would be more than willing to help you out. How about we write up a list of what you want and then we can send it off?" She asked, pencil and parchment in... Hand? Hoof? Magic? At the ready.

I tapped my chin, "Hmm, two regular bedrooms, a full bathroom, one big master bedroom with a large bathroom, and two good sized empty rooms, one of which needs a lot of windows." I listed off, keeping the needs of everyone in mind.

Twilight nodded as I listed off each room, "Alright." She jabbed the parchment as I finished, "Why the two empty rooms? And the windows?" She asked, putting the pencil down.

I chuckled and leaned back, "Well, the windowed room would be for Rarity, since she's expanding the shop, I figured she'd need a little workshop to flex her creative muscle at home." I smiled, "And the other room would be a play room for Pinchy, Sweetie Belle, and the other Crusaders for when they aren't in their little treehouse." Twilight smiled softly, "Now a question for you Sparkles: I see one letter, but you mentioned multiple ponies, do they all work for one company?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow.

"Oh that's easy, its just a quick "Copy/Paste" spell." Her horn glowed and an aura of magic surrounded the original letter, then around several other sheets of parchment, texts appearing on the blank sheets, "Was there anything else you needed?" She asked, rolling up the letters and sealing them with wax, then teleporting them away.

I was about to say no, but then I paused, "Actually, why didn't you have Spike send those? I though that was his "thing?"" I asked, noting the absence of the little purple assistant.

Twilight looked away, then sighed, "Well, he... he hasn't been terribly fond of anything dealing with you lately and spent yesterday and this morning upstairs... He's only come down to get food and water." Twilight said, looking down and drawing a circle on the floor with the tip of her hoof.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, "Ugh, I feel bad now." I muttered.

Twilight came over to me and put a hoof on my shoulder, "Don't. You haven't done anything wrong." She said softly. A soft padding noise came from the stairs and stopped, making me glance up and see a surprised, then angry, looking Spike. He came down the stairs and marched up to me, glaring as I raised my eyebrows. Then, and I still can't believe this happened, he spat a small green glob of dragon fire/spit on my foot.

I can take a lot, but I won't take an insult like that, "Okay, that's it." I quickly formed a crazy plan and grabbed Spike by the back of his neck, "Twilight," I held the dragon up to the unicorn, "Cloud Walker spell him, now." I growled.

"Put me down!" Spike demanded, trying to singe my arm, but I easily diverted the flame.

"Why-" Twilight began.

"NOW TWILIGHT." I growled, glaring. She quickly grew quiet and cast the spell on Spike, "Thanks." I went to the door, Spike and flame in tow, "I'll be borrowing him for a while, 'kaythanksbye." I closed the door behind me, ignoring the protesting coming from Spike who was wiggling in my grasp. I took the flames Spike was so gracious to spit at me earlier, then shot them up in the air, writing a note and an arrow pointing down, "RAINBOW DASH COME HERE. BRING A CLOUD."

Needless to say, she arrived, pushing a cloud, within a minute of my shooting the message into the air, "Hey John," She said, landing beside me, "What do you need?" She seemed concerned, seeing an obviously unhappy Spike in my grasp and an angry look in my eyes.

I hopped onto the cloud, "I need you to take me a few hundred feet over a fairly deep lake." I replied, looking at her.

Her concern grew, "Umm, why?" She asked, looking at me with no small measure of doubt.

I lifted Spike up, "Me and Spike here need to have a talk and I don't want him runnin' off."

I guess my answer satisfied her because she got behind the cloud and, in just a couple of minutes, set the cloud over a large blue lake, "When you need to get down call me, alright?" She said, waving and flying off, glancing over her shoulder before firing off like a rainbow bullet.

I put Spike down on the cloud and he whipped around, knocking my hand aside, "What is your problem?" He snapped, baring his teeth.

I crossed my arms and looked him in the eye, "We need to talk." I replied coldly.

Spike pouted and turned away, "I've got nothing to say to you." He growled.

I shrugged, "Alright," I crossed my legs, "When you're ready to talk, then maybe we can start getting down from here." I said simply. He growled again, then proceeded to sit himself as far as physically possible from me.

It was nearly three hours before Spike got up and sat beside me, looking away from me, "So why'd you do it?" He asked, poking at the cloud.

I chuckled softly and sighed, "Would any response change how you feel?" I asked, looking over at him.

He stopped poking the cloud, "Iunno... Maybe..." He muttered.

I sprawled on the cloud and looked at the sky, "Well..." I paused for a moment, "Well, I didn't really mean for it to happen." Spike looked at me and I laughed softly, "Spike, you've been raised around ponies your whole life, so for you to find them attractive is pretty normal."

"What's your point?" he asked.

I sighed and sat up, "The fact that I found Berry and Rarity attractive might just be because I'm odd, but I started this whole thing trying as hard as possible NOT to be attracted to them."

Spike turned towards me now, confusion in his eyes, "Why would you do that?"

I tried to think of a way to explain this to him, so I went with an allegory, "Well, you know that ponies never eat meat and the only animal products they eat are things like honey and milk, right?"

Spike nodded, "Well yeah."

"However griffons eat meat, yes?"

He nodded again, slower this time, "Yeeeaaaahhh?"

"Well, if a pony were to visit the Griffon Kingdom, would they want to eat meat?"

"Never!"

"Even if it were the only thing available?"  
>"Well..."<p>

"Exactly. They would start doing it because they had to if they wanted to eat." I sat up, "While I

m not saying I have to, I've decided to look at ponies in that manner because they are whats here, outside of griffons and buffalo."

Spike sighed, "I guess I get it," He said, "But why Rarity?" He gave me a forlorn look.

I was quiet for a minute as he stared at me, "I don't really know bud." I said, shrugging weakly, "Why does anyone fall for anyone?"I chuckled softly, "Y'know, back in my world, Rarity was the last pony I ever saw myself with, if the situation ever occurred."

Spike smiled a bit, "Really?"

I smirked, "Yeah." I looked out to the sky, "I always saw myself hookin' up with Vinyl Scratch or Pinkie."

Spike snorted a bit, "Why?"

I smiled and shrugged, "I'm a bit of an animal, so the only person, sorry, pony able to handle my animalistic nature would probably be a party animal."

Spike nodded sagely, "Makes sense." Then he laughed again.

"So, we good?" I asked, looking over at him.

Spike didn't say anything for a minute, looking over the edge of the cloud, "Well, I guess we are." He said slowly, "But watch out, I'll try and snatch her back when you aren't looking!" He gave me a confident stare, smiling all the while.

I chuckled softly and held up my fist, "I'll keep an eye open." I said. Spike smiled and bumped his fist against mine, causing me to smile.

He sat down next to me and looked over the edge again, "So, why the cloud?" He asked.

I smirked, "I didn't want you running off." I nodded down at the lake, "The lake was just in case, y'know?"

He nodded, "I guess that makes sense."

I was going to summon up a few sparks to get Dash's attention, when I heard a loud bird cry, "What the-" I said, getting cut off by a large brown mass zooming under us and popping the cloud. We immediately started falling towards the lake. I grabbed Spike and held him close to my chest and struggled to pull a glove on, a plan forming in my head. I remembered my basic science facts, so I knew that, if we hit the water as is, it would be similar to hitting a steel plate. I hugged Spike close to my chest with my left arm, my glove on my right hand, and looked down at the incoming body of water. I stuck my gloved fist towards the lake, uttered a small prayer to the Goddess and Luna, then grit my teeth. In the split instant before I hit the water, I saw a butter yellow and pink blur of color and a dark purple and blue blur of color at the edge of the water. I was lucky in a way, as the Shield Stones did force the water out of the way, breaking the surface tension. However, at the moment of impact, it felt like a spear of pain went through my arm and, as we hit the water itself, I could feel my back erupt blossom with searing agony. As I sunk, my grip on Spike came loose and he started floating up to the surface and a single thought floated through my mind, "Shit, this hurts." Then I blacked out.

.

..

…

….

…..

I woke up, the world was blurry and I couldn't tell where I was. My back and arm were burning with pain, making me moan. My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and, overall, I was just uncomfortable, moaning in pain.

"Quick, put him back under!" Said a voice from my left. I tried to look over, but my body wasn't quite responding properly. I felt someone fiddling with something on my arm, then I closed my eyes again.

.

..

…

….

…..

I woke up again, and the world was blurry, again. It was quiet, the only noises were a soft beeping beside me and the soft humming one would hear from florescent lights. I blinked until the blurry went away and found myself staring at a bright light, ringed by a soft green curtain, along with a burning thirst. I looked to my right and saw an EKG machine, beeping softly, as well as my heavily casted arm, then to my left and saw a small nightstand/table thing with, thankfully, a glass of water sitting on top of it. I reached out weakly and grabbed the glass. It felt like a lead weight as I brought it to my lips and slowly sipped until it was empty. Somewhat satisfied, I tried to sit up a bit, only to have pain rip through my body. After a moment of pain induced dizziness, I decided not to try that again. I lifted my left hand and patted around above my head until I found what I was looking for: A string. I pulled on it and heard a soft buzzing noise in the distance, followed by the soft tapping of hooves.

A pony with a light pink mane, white coat, and nurses cap came into my field of vision, "Hey there sleepy, what can I do for you?" she asked with a soft smile.

I pointed to the glass beside me, "Water." I croaked softly.

"Of course." She said, leaving for a minute and returning with a large pitcher then refilling my glass. She smiled and waited as I drained another two glasses of water, "Is there anything else you need?" She asked.

"I'd like to sit up a bit, if that's possible." I replied. She nodded and pushed a button next to the bed and the upper half began to slowly rise. I hissed softly as my pains flared up a bit, then sighed in relief when it was done, "Thanks." I said to her, "So, whats the damage?" I asked, looking her in the eye.

She walked over the foot of the bed and looked down at a chart, "You broke your... "arm" in three places, fractured a few ribs, and had some internal bleeding, but nothing we couldn't handle. Frankly, you came out a good bit worse than your dragon friend."

I was quiet for a moment as I digested what she said, "What happened to Spike?" I asked slowly.

The nurse paused for a second, then sighed, "He's got a broken arm too, and he's battered up pretty well, but it seems you took most of the impact." She came up and nuzzled my cheek, "You're a regular hero."

I chuckled softly, "Nah, just damn lucky." I smiled at the nurse, then a thought came to mind, "Umm, has anypony come by to see me?" I asked, concern in my voice obvious.

She nodded, "Yes, quite a few actually, almost everyday now."

I scratched my neck, "How long have I been under?" I asked, suddenly noticing the beard I was growing.

"About five days now." She responded, checking the machine on my right.

I whistled softly, "Shit." I sighed and looked at her, "Hey, when can my visitors come up to my room?" I asked, "Like visiting hours?"

She stuck her head out of the curtain, then looked back at me, "Hours start in ten minutes or so." She smiled, "Lucky you."

I smirked, "Would you mind sending them up early?" I asked.

She tapped her chin with a hoof, "I suppose it's fine, since you're in stable condition and all." She smiled at me, "I'll send them right up."

I nodded, "Thank you Nurse Redheart." I smiled as she raised her eyebrows in surprise, then left. I sighed and looked over at my arm again, happy to see I could still move my finger freely, then I glanced down at my chest and saw a wrap of bandages over most of it. I sighed again and propped myself up a little higher, taking the glass beside me and looking into the water, not quite lost in thought, but unsure of what to think.

I heard a large group of hooves tip-tapping their way towards me, then a group of ponies opened the curtain and clamored to my bedside.

Rarity and Berry nearly jumped on top of me, but stopped short as I held up my hand, "Oh Celestia, look at you!" Said Rarity, dipping a rag into the water beside me and wiping my face.

Berry nuzzled my neck, "You're a fool John, a heroic fool." She muttered softly.

Pinchy and Sweetie Belle hopped up next to me and pushed their heads into the side of my face, not saying anything as tears streamed down their little cheeks.

I saw Twilight standing back a bit, "Thanks John." She said, giving me a tired smile.

"For what?" I asked, pulling the two fillies into a loose hug.

"Saving Spike." She replied.

Rarity nudged Twilight with her horn, "Go, go! Take care of Spike while we handle John!" She said, pushing the purple librarian past the curtains, "There," Rarity turned back to me, "You are," She came up to me and kissed me, crying a bit, "Such." Another kiss, "A." Another, "Fool!"

Berry giggled softly and kissed my cheek, "So what happened exactly?" She came around and stood beside Rarity, "Fluttershy only saw you hitting the lake when Princess Luna appeared and saved you."

Pinchy and Sweetie Belle were looking at me with curious eyes, "I'm not quite sure honestly." I replied, rubbing my cheek, "I just saw a big brown blur, then the cloud popped, then we started falling."

Pinchy propped her head on my arm, "What'd you do then?" She asked, eyes as wide as Sweetie's.

I smiled softly at their cuteness, "Well, I grabbed Spike and pulled on my glove, then I prayed." I chuckled hollowly, "I prayed to my Goddess and to Luna, then I just gritted my teeth." I looked over at my broken arm, "Then all I felt was pain and I blacked out."

Rarity levitated the two fillies off the bed and put them on the ground, "How about you two fetch John something to eat? I'm sure he's hungry after being asleep for so long."

I looked over at Rarity and Berry, "So, whats the bad news?" I asked, causing the two of them to look away guiltily, "Oh face it, you don't send kids off because you have good things to say."

They sighed and Berry looked at me, "See, the thing is-"  
>"I'll handle this Miss Punch." Came a regal voice. Luna parted the curtain and walked up to us, "Please," She looked at Rarity and Berry, "Might John and I have some privacy?"<p>

They looked at her, then me for approval, relaxing at my nodding and kissing my cheeks before walking off, "So," I looked at Luna, "This must be important for the Princess herself to want to talk to me in private about it."

She gave me a slight smile, "Well, I did say the night would forever guard you. So when you prayed to me, I came." She smiled softly, then sighed and put on her serious face, "But that is not why I came."

I grabbed my glass of water and knocked it back, "So why did you come? I can't imagine it's for my sparkling personality."

She chuckled softly, "No," She grew somber, "No, you see, we have the being that popped the cloud you and Spike were sitting up imprisoned." She looked me in the eye, "In all the history of Equestria, we've not had a situation like this. True enough, there has been the occasional accident where a pony has, unfortunately, perished. However, we have never had a direct attempt on anothers life before."

I raised my eyebrow, "So?" I asked, "How does this involve me?"

Luna sighed and sat beside the bed, "We'd like you to come in and figure out what we should do with them."

I chuckled hollowly, "You'd like me to play judge and jury, is that it?" I asked.

She nodded, "Under different circumstances Tia and I would not ask this of you, but given the odd nature of all this..."

I sighed and nodded, "Alright, when can we do this?" I asked.

"Today actually." I cocked my eyebrow, "You're in stable condition and, with a bit of royal persuasion, I've convinced Redheart to let you come to the castle with me, so long as you take these painkillers." She put two pills onto the table beside me.

I nodded and stretched a bit, "Alright, give me an hour and I'll be ready." She nodded and stepped outside the curtained partition. I swallowed the pills with some water and stood up, wincing slightly. I looked down at myself and began to pull off the hospital gown I was dressed in, tossed some water over my head to try and clean off a bit, then grabbed my stuff out of the drawers that were in the bedside table. I got dressed a little quicker than I had expected since the painkillers were quick to kick in, allowing me to move without painful repercussions.

I stepped out of the curtains, my arm in a sling, and found Luna waiting for me, "Are you ready?" She asked. I nodded and she walked up to me, "Alright." she touched her horn to my forehead and everything went dark for a second, "Welcome to the Canterlot Dungeons." She said as the world reformed around me. We were in a stereotypical dungeon: Brick, iron bars, torches, the only difference being the lack of occupants and general cleanliness of it all. Luna walked over to one of the cells and gestured with a hoof, "Here you go." She said.

I walked over to the cell and stepped inside, looking to the dark corner that most likely hid my attempted murderer. I pulled a flame from a nearby torch and revealed a pair of lion legs, eagle claws, and a set of wings. The most notable feature, however, were the purple feathers atop her head, "Gilda the Griffon." I chuckled softly, "Damn.

((RRRAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! CHAPTER DONE IN ONE NIGHT! SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK!

I NOW DEMAND YOUR INPUT! RAGLFRAGLETITSMERPS!

Fuck. Well, that's done. I'm going to bed once this is online.

-John a.k.a. Exanora a.k.a. Sanguine Smiles))


	4. Lessons and Loss

I sighed and leaned gingerly against the wall before speaking, "So," I began, "You were the one who popped my cloud?" I asked, looking at a spoke beside her.

She sneered, "And if I was?"

I chuckled darkly and closed my eyes, "That's a yes if I've ever heard one." I said, turning and walking back out of the cell.

"What?" She shouted behind me, "Too scared to do anything?" She taunted.

I laughed again and looked over at Luna, "I'm going to need a few things Luna." I said, my voice flat and hollow.

Luna raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly, "What is it you will need?" She asked.

I leaned back against the wall, "First, I'll need a brand with a capital C." She nodded, "I'll also need Gilda chained up to the wall, securely as possible." I looked down and sighed, "I'll also need your three toughest guards, a doctor, you, and your sister to watch and be ready."

Luna's hoof came into my vision, "Why?" She asked quietly.

"I need you and Tia to watch to understand what I'm doing." I replied quietly, "I need the doctor to treat her when I'm done."

"And the guards?" She asked.

I was quiet for a moment, "I want them to understand too," I replied, "I want you all to understand that I am capable of horrible, terrible things, and I will do them if the need arises."

Luna was quiet, "Will..." she paused, "Will you hurt her?" She asked.

I chuckled hollowly, "Yes, but no worse than I am hurt."

"Why?"

"To punish her Luna." I stood up and looked into the cage, "That's it." She sighed softly, but I could hear the soft clopping of her hooves on the stone, then some murmurs as she relayed my requests. I continued to look into the cage, staring at the shadowed form that was Gilda, even as I heard other ponies approaching. Once the cage door was opened again and the brand placed beside me, I stepped back and turned around, noting the new presence of Celestia and Nurse Redheart.

Celestia gave me a look that was both stern and worried, "What are you going to do?" She asked.

I picked up the brand and ran my thumb over the curve of the C, "I'm going to brand her as a criminal, then..." I ran my hair through my hair, "I dunno, I'll make it up as I go."

Celestia sighed, then nodded, "Alright... What is it you wanted us to understand John?" She asked, looking at me sadly.

I twirled the brand as the guards latched Gilda to the wall, "I may not have omnipotence, I may not be made up of different animal parts," I increased the heat of the flame I had pulled, "I may only have simple magical skills," I looked at Luna and Celestia, "But I have the potential to be more chaotic and sow more discontent that Discord at his best." I turned and walked into the cage as the guards walked out, "I want you to understand that, while I am kind, I am also evil. For all of this, I am human."

Gilda was glaring at me as I walked in, "Whats the big idea?" She demanded, her wings flaring as she strained against her bonds.

I looked at the brand as it glowed bright yellow, "I am going to mark you as a criminal Gilda." I walked closer to her, "Then I am going to punish you for what you did."

Her eyes were fixed on the brand, "Woah woah woah, can we talk about this?" She laughed nervously, wiggling, "I mean, come on."

I shook my head and lifted the brand up towards her wrist, "No Gilda, we can't." I pressed the brand against her brand against her wrist. Luna later told me that Gilda's screams were heard throughout the castle and that the smell of burnt flesh never quite went away. I ignored Gilda's screams and kept the brand pressed firmly against her wrist for about half a minute before pulling it off.

I put the brand down and pulled my glove onto my one good hand, "Why did you do it?" I asked her as I flexed my fingers.

Gilda was sobbing and looked at me, "W-what?" She gasped between sobs.

I gave her a cold look, "Why did you decided to pop the cloud Spike and I were sitting on?" I restated.

Gilda coughed and gave a weak smile, "I figured it would be funny." She coughed again, "Figured the water would cushion the fall."

I laughed softly and stepped towards her again, feeling a grim satisfaction as she flinched away from me, "Let me give you a small science lesson Gilda." I traced the tip of a claw down her arm, "Water has surface tension, that why things like leaves and bugs float on the surface. However," I looked her in the eye, "At high speeds, this surface tension can be compared to an iron plate." I lifted my glove up and showed it to her, "Thankfully, the Shield Stones on these gloves allowed my to break the surface tension so that I didn't die on impact, however," I gestured to my cast and bandages, "I didn't escape unscathed, as you can see." I turned and looked at the wall... And began to laugh. I could feel myself lose my sanity as my lust for violence began to take over, "Well then!" I snarled, whipping around to look at Gilda, "Would you like to know this pain I feel?" I lunged in and shot my fist towards the arm I had not branded, causing it to break instantly, the snap echoing in the dungeon. Gilda's screams were immediate, but were cut off as I brought my fist to her ribs, breaking at least two of them. She coughed and looked at me with pleading eyes, but I cocked my fist back again. I brought it, backhanded, against the her other side and broke another few ribs, then stepped back as she coughed and trembled. I could feel the fire in my veins cooling off as I turned around and walking out of the cage. I looked at the group of people I had requested and sighed softly at what I saw. Nurse Redheart rushed past me as I walked out, one of the guards was throwing up in a corner, all while Luna and Celestia were looking at me like I was a monster.

I sighed softly and put my glove in my pocket, "Please..." I said softly, "Please, take me home." I closed my eyes, "I am so tired, please take me home." I could feel a fuzzy blackness settle over my mind, "Please, sweet Goddess, take me home..." I slumped against the wall and slowly let myself fall to the ground and pass out.

I woke up in my Ponyville home, tired, thirsty, and sore. I got out of the bed and went over the the bathroom, drinking from the tap eagerly, until my thirst was satiated. I sighed and looked at myself, noting my pale skin and developing scruff. I walked towards the kitchen and found Berry by herself, washing dishes. I knocked on the wall and she looked towards me, dropping the dish into the sink, running towards me and muzzling her face into my chest. She led me towards the living room and on the way I noted a set of stairs that wasn't there previously.

I sat down on the couch, groaning softly, "So, how long was I out?" I asked Berry as she got up beside me.

"Only a day." She replied, leaning against me as I ran my fingers through her mane.

I nodded and looked around, "Where's Rarity?" I looked down at Berry, but her mane was covering her eyes and she didn't say anything, "Berry," I lifted her face with on crooked finger, "Where's Rarity? And Sweetie? And Pinchy?"

Berry sighed and put her head on my shoulder, "Pinchy and Sweetie are at school and Rarity's with Twilight and the others, but..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"But what?" I asked, looked her in the eye.

She sighed, "See, Rainbow Dash heard about what happened to Gilda, so she flipped out. Rarity then heard about it and said she would be with Dash for a little while... She never said when she would be coming back... She took Sweetie Belle too." Berry finished quietly.

I was silent, leaning forward and pinching the bridge of my nose, "Shit." I mumbled softly, "Shit."

Berry nuzzled into my cheek, "Is there anything I can do babe?" She asked.

I stood up slowly, "Let's just go out and walk around for a bit," I pinched the bridge of my nose again, "I need to clear my head a bit." She nodded and we headed out the door. We started walking without a specific goal in mind, meandering around the shops and stalls that lined the late morning streets. Berry tried her best to cheer me up, pointing out neat little knick-knacks and telling me stories, but my funk remained perpetual. The time eventually came when Berry had to go and pick up Pinchy and she offered for me to come along, but I declined, saying that I'd like to keep walking for a bit. She nodded, but with a notable amount of concern in her eyes, kissed my cheek, then went towards the schoolhouse. My wanderings took me towards the outskirts of Ponyville, up a small hill, then to a sitting position as I stared at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

I sat there for a while, then I closed my eyes and began to sing, "Os iusti meditabitur sapientiam,  
>Et lingua eius loquetur indicium.<br>Beatus vir qui suffert tentationem,  
>Quoniqm cum probates fuerit accipient coronam vitae.<br>Kyrie, fons bonitatis.  
>Kyrie, ignis divine, eleison.<br>O quam sancta, quam serena,  
>Quam benigma, quam amoena esse Virgo creditur.<br>O quam sancta, quam serena,  
>Quam benigma, quam amoena,<br>O castitatis lilium.  
>Kyrie, fons bonitatis.<br>Kyrie, ignis divine, eleison.  
>O quam sancta, quam serena,<br>Quam benigma, quam amoena,  
>O castitatis lilium."<p>

"You sing very well," Came a voice from beside me, "But what does it mean, if you can tell?"

I opened my eyes and saw Zecora beside me, "It's in a very old language from my world." I chuckled softly, "Do you want a direct translation?" She nodded, and I did my best to remember my fandom, "The mouth of the Just shall meditate wisdom,  
>And His tongue shall declare judgment.<br>Blessed is he who endureth temptation,  
>For once he hath been tested, he shall receive the crown of life.<br>Oh Lord, Fountain of Holiness,  
>Oh Lord, Fire Divine, have mercy.<br>Oh how holy, how serene,  
>How generous, how pleasant this Virgin who believeth.<br>Oh how holy, how serene,  
>How generous, how pleasant,<br>Oh Pure Lily.  
>Oh Lord, Fountain of Holiness,<br>Oh Lord, Fire Divine, have mercy.

Oh how holy, how serene,  
>How generous, how pleasant,<br>Oh Pure Lily."

Zecora smiled, "Beautiful words indeed," She frowned slightly, "But not all is well it seems." She leaned against my good arm, "Tell me John, what is wrong?" She gave a small, reassuring smile, "Perhaps then I can have you singing a brighter song."

I smirked at her rhyming habit and told her what had happened with Gilda and, subsequently, Rarity, "So yeah, I'm kinda sad about it." I gave a weak smile.

She was leaning against my good side, "While I cannot condone what you have done, I do think you should have some fun." She stood up and pushed my shoulder in the direction of her hut, "But first thing's first. I'll take you back to my home and heal your hurts." She nudged me again, then began walking. I got up and followed close behind her, letting my body go to automatic as I my mind began to wander. Something I grew to like about Zecora was the fact that she when to speak and when not to, so the trip was quiet, but not awkward. We got to her home and she let me in, stepping aside so I could duck under the door frame. I sat down while she stepped in and puttered about, moving a few bottles filled with fluids and various herbs, settling on a bottle with a reddish brown fluid swirling inside it.

She poured some of it into a wooden cup and and gave it to me, "Here, hold your breath and drink this down, then we shall see if we can fix your frown." She gave me a soft smile as I tipped the cup towards her in small acknowledgment.

I took a sip and nearly spit it out, "Oh sweet Goddess that is foul." I scowled as Zecora laughed softly, then sighed and held my breath as I knocked the rest back like a shot, "Ugh." I grunted with a small shiver. Zecora took back the cup and I felt a weird warmth spread throughout my body, spreading quickly through me. What I felt next was similar to growing pains, achey, sore, and very painful, but it was around my injured arm and ribs. I hissed softly as the sensation flared for a bit, then faded away, turning my hiss into a relaxed sigh.

Zecora came over and lifted my shirt with her muzzle, grabbing the bandages around my torso and unwinding them, doing the same for my cast once that was done, "There, your bones are mended," She prodded my ribs experimentally, "Now we shall work to see that your pain is ended." She gave me a soft smile and stepped back, satisfied with the results of the drink. A soft knock came from the door and Zecora answered after a quick glance back at me. She stood at the open door, conversing softly and nodding, then she came back to me, "It seems that others have need of you." She nuzzled my cheek, "Shall we meet up tomorrow, at around two?" She asked.

I nodded and smiled softly, "I'd be happy to Zecora." I gave her a quick hug and walked outside to see, much to my surprise, Princess Luna gazing into the surrounding forest. She looked back at me and gestured with a wing for me to follow, which I was prompt to do.

She was quiet, her face set in contemplation, so I decided to break the silence with a question, "How's Gilda doing?" I asked, steeping over some roots.

Luna's horn was glowing softly as she moved plants out of her way, "Well enough, given the circumstances. There is no sign of infection and her bones were set back in place properly, so she should recover in due time." We came into a small clearing, "Though you could ask her yourself." Luna nodded to a shadowed figure limping towards us.

The light of the setting sun revealed Gilda coming towards us, "Hey." she said, stopping in front of me.

I nodded, sliding my hand into my pocket and wrapping my fingers around the handle of the knife Celestia had given me, "I'm impressed to see you up and about." She had a cast around one arm and binding around her other wrist and chest.

Gilda scoffed and flipped her feathers with a flick of her head, "Heh, I've had worse when I was learning to fly." She looked away for a second, then back at me with a look of remorse, "Listen, I-" She sighed, "I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't think it through and-"

I cut her off with a hand and looked towards the forest, "You hear that?" I asked, noting the odd whistling in the background. I looked over the treeline and saw a pegasus circling around, like they were looking for something. I pulled my gloves out and brought out a few sparks, "Anyway, don't worry about it Gilda." I sent the sparks into the air and had them circle around to catch the pegasus's attention, "So to what do I owe the personal visitation of the Lunar Princess?" I asked nodding as the pegasus began to fly towards us.

Gilda walked over to a tree and laid down as Luna looked at me, "I do recall saying I would teach you basic elemental control, unless you'd rather not learn?" She raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head, "No, no, I would love to learn, I'm just surprised you're still up to teach me after, well." I gestured to Gilda, who was laying down, "I thought you wouldn't want to teach me."

Luna shrugged, "The draconequus you know is better than the draconequus you don't." She smiled, "And this way, I know what you are capable of and what you've learned."

I chuckled softly, "I can respect that." The pegasus landed and trotted over to me, revealing herself it be Derpy Hooves, "Hey there Derpy," I smiled softly, "What brings you out here?"

Derpy had a strange look on her face as she pulled out a small package and gave it to me, "I'm really sorry." She said softly, taking off into the air quickly.

I was filled with dread as I opened the small box, "Sorry?" I mumbled, then froze as I saw a small blue teardrop necklace sitting inside. My mind wen blank as I pulled it out of the box and put it on, tucking it under my shirt, "Luna." I said hollowly.

"Yes?" She said, her voice filled with concern, "What is it?"

"Start talking, teach me, keep me busy." I said, my voice flat, "Just... Just don't give me time to think."

Luna looked like she was going to say something, then stopped and sighed, "Alright," Her horn glowed as a ball of dirt, fire, water, and what I assumed was wind(visible only due to the fact that there were leaves spinning around inside it) began to float around her, "Each element has specific ways they need to be handled, otherwise you won't be able to use them." The ball of fire came forward, "Fire is the easiest to handle, since all one needs is to constantly put energy into it and it will do anything you ask."

The ball of fire vanished and the earth ball came forward, "Earth is harder in that it has mass and can greatly vary in consistency depending on where you are. However, it is one of the most useful since it will remain, even after the magic has left it." The ball of earth crumbled and the ball of water came forward, "Water is very difficult as it has no shape and is constantly in motion, so one must exert great will to have it do what you want of it." The ball of water splashed to the ground and the "ball" of wind came up, "Wind is the hardest element to control because it must be kept in constant motion for it to exist. It is also considered the least important because of it's difficulty to control and lack of practical use." The leaves fluttered to the ground, "You can already use fire, so we'll move on to earth for now, and if you can do well enough to satisfy me, then we'll advance to water, then wind." I nodded and she began to instruct me on how to handle earth, starting with dirt. By the time she deemed me capable enough to start moving rocks and stone it had gotten pretty late and the moon was hanging up high in the sky.

Luna put hoof on my back, "That's enough for now." I was panting a bit, eyes glazed over, "We'll pick this up again soon, but for now you should go home and sleep." A curtain of stars surrounded me, vanishing a moment later as we appeared in front of my house, "Do you think Gilda could stay here for the night?" Ask Luna, "Normally we'd keep her at the castle, but the staff are nervous about taking care of a griffon."

I cocked an eyebrow, "So you'd think she'd be more comfortable with the guy who broke her bones?" I asked snidely.

Luna sighed softly, "Can you take her for the night John?"

I nodded and waved my hand, "Yeah, yeah, it's fine." I bowed slightly and turned towards my house, "See ya later Queen." I looked over and saw Gilda following me inside while Luna vanished in a flash of dark purple energy, "So," I said once Gilda and I were inside, "You can take the bedroom over there." I gestured to the old master bedroom, "It's got its own bathroom, kitchen's open so help yourself." I walked over to the stairs, "Call me if ya need anythin'." I walked upstairs and found the new master bedroom with a sleeping Berry under the sheets while Desmond was snoozing next to the bed.

I got undressed, leaving the necklace on, and slipped into the bed next to Berry and stared at the ceiling for a while, toying with the small, azure teardrop around my neck. I wasn't sure what to think about the whole ordeal, my mind was abuzz with so much activity that it was more numb than anything. I sighed softly and put and arm over Berry, drawing myself close to her and closing my eyes, submitting myself to a sleep that was slow to come.


	5. A Second Chance

I woke up a few hours in a state that told me that I had not gotten nearly enough sleep. With a soft sigh I rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants, then headed to the stairs, hankering a sweet drink to cool me off. Desmond looked at me with half closed eyes and gave a small, curious whine, but was quickly calmed by a scratch behind the ears. My mind was still abuzz with the static that was far too much thought going on at one time, but I was still fighting off sleep fuzz, so it didn't bother me so much. I grabbed a jug of apple cider and poured it into a glass, taking a long drink, then filled up the glass again and heading to the den. I placed the glass down and placed some logs into the fireplace, using some paper and matches to start a cheery fire, then I settled into a chair and stared into the flames.

For any ladies reading this, I'm going to reveal a big guy secret: Fire will provoke a man's deepest thoughts. It's true, start a fire and a man will be staring into it, cooking with it, or trying desperately to put it out because it has gone horribly horribly wrong. If it's the first option then they, like I was at the time, are thinking about things hat are bothering them. I stared into the fire, thoughts slowly coming to light and taking their time as I put them in their places. Yes, Rarity left and, with the necklace she sent back, it probably meant she wasn't coming back, but I was going to do my best to remain hopeful. Given what happened with Gilda, it was a likely possibility that the Princesses would have me under watch by the Guards, most likely out of uniform. The Mane 6 would certainly be looking at me with different eyes since Rainbow was against me and they were thicker than thieves. I sighed softly and took another sip from my glass.

"Hey." Said a voice coming up behind me, "What are you doing up this early?" Gilda limped into the light.

I nodded in acknowledgment, "Honestly? Thinking." I gestured towards the fire with my glass, "Fire helps a guy think."

Gilda crawled up onto the couch, "Does it have to do with that necklace you're messin' with?" She asked.

I looked down and saw my free hand toying with the teardrop pendant, "Yeah... Yeah it does." I replied, leaning back, placing my free arm on the rest.

I could see Gilda out of the corner of my eye, looking at the fire as she spoke, "You wanna talk about it?" She asked.

I stared at the fire as well, "In a way it deals with you, so I guess you have a small right to know." I drank some more cider before I began, "I was living with another pony, other than the one upstairs at the moment, before what happened between you and me. You know her, or of her at least."

"I do?"

I nodded, "She's a friend of Rainbow Dash, the white one with the purple mane and gem cutie mark."

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing her at a party."

"I was living with her too and she's friend with Rainbow Dash." I tapped the side of the glass softly, "Dash heard about what I did to you and well, from what I can gather, didn't take it well."

"... Sounds like her." Gilda replied softly.

I chuckled softly, "Yeah. Well, Rainbow and Rarity, the whole group really, they're pretty close so when one of them is upset..." I trailed off.

"They all are, I get it." Gilda finished my thought, "I have a group of friends and it's pretty similar."

I sighed softly, "Well, this necklace?" I held it up a bit, "I gave this to her, just before we shared our first kiss." I smiled faintly at the memory, then frowned, "You can imagine what it means that she sent I back to me." I muttered, downing the rest of my drink.

"Must hurt." She replied.

I smiled sadly, "How are we to know pleasure if we do not know pain? Know happiness if not sadness?" I asked rhetorically.

"What?" She asked, her voice laced with confusion.

I shook my head, "Yeah, it sucks and hurts, but things happen. I'm willing to accept it and move on." I pulled some of the flame into my palm, "However, I'm going to try and remain hopeful that things might get better."

"Heh, you're tough for a..." She paused, "What are you exactly?"

I smirked and placed the glass on a small table, "I suppose I owe you that much, but settle in, it's a long story and I'm not one for cutting things out." I toyed with the flame in my hand as I told her my story, starting with a quick explanation of what I was, then telling her about when I woke up in Equestria, finishing up where she had popped the cloud under me and Spike.

Gilda whistled softly(something I've yet to figure out, seeing as she has a beak), "Geez, busy sort, aren't you?"

I shrugged and looked out the window, noting the rising sun, "I like to keep busy somehow, I get anxious when I'm not doing something to keep my brain active."

"Sounds like something you should see a doctor about." She replied, smirking.

I chuckled softly and looked out the window, noting the rising sun, "Nah, its not a real issue." I sighed softly, "What is a problem is the current situation with the Mane 6." Gilda raised an eyebrow, "Rainbow Dash and her friends."

Gilda nodded in understanding, "Ah, well what do you plan on doing?" She asked.

I shrugged, "What I always do with stuff like this, wing it." I chuckled softly, "I gotta ask you something Gilda." I said softly.

"Whats that?"

"From what I know about you, which is little, you're a bit of a... Well, a bitch." I heard her snort, "So why the change in behavior?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

She was quiet for a bit, "After what happened the first time I came here, I realized that Dash HAD changed, but for the better. Meanwhile I had changed as well, but I had become worse for it. Part of it was because griffons naturally grow up in a hostile environment, so we become tough, but another part of it was because..." She paused.

"Because of what?" I asked.

"Because I didn't have any real friends." She smiled sadly at the memory, "While I did have a group I would hang out with, they tolerated me more than liked me."

"So what did you do after your Ponyville incident?" I let the flame drape itself over my shoulders.

She shrugged, "For a while, not much. I was really upset about pretty much losing Dash as a friend and I spent a lot of my time running on automatic, doing what I usually do, but my heart and mind weren't in it." She readjusted herself on the couch, "During one my weekly hunts I nearly lost my prey because I wasn't paying attention. It was then I realized that I needed to change, at least get myself out of the funk I was in. I lost some of the unwarranted superiority, I tried being less hostile, I threw myself into improving my abilities overall. A couple of other griffons asked me to help them train, then a couple more. It took a while, but I realized that they had become my friends, real friends, friends who I worried and cared about, who I would help if they asked for it." She smiled and looked at me, "And I became a better griffon because of them."

I smiled and chuckled, "Well, I'm happy to hear it Gilda." I stretched my arms upward, "So what brought you to Ponyville? I can't imagine it's just down the way."

Her smile faded a bit, "I wanted to see Dash again, see if we could patch things up a bit, y'know?"

I nodded, "I get that. Guess I interrupted your plans a bit yeah?" I smiled weakly.

Gilda smiled softly, "Yeah, but if I was in the Griffon Kingdom and did something like that I probably would have come out a lot worse." She shrugged again and fluffed out her wings a bit, "My kind aren't known for taking a joke too well."

I smirked, "Nice." I stood up and cracked my back, "Urgh, I believe its time for breakfast, then a walk." I walked over to the kitchen, "You want anything?" I asked Gilda as I grabbed various fruits and a knife.

"Nah, I'll eat later." She said, coming into the kitchen and watching me chop the fruits up into cubes, "Where'd you learn to do that?" She asked, looking at the knife.

"Hm?" I pulled the cubes into a bowl, "Oh..." I put the knife in the sink, "My mother taught me." I said with a sad smile. Gilda didn't reply, so I quickly finished off the fruit and washed the bowl and knife before putting them away, "You good to walk for a while?" I asked, gesturing to her bandages.

She nodded, "Yeah. It'll be nice to get outside too." She looked around and smirked, "Never figured out why ponies liked to live in such an enclosed space. Me? I prefer a cave, or something with a big exit."

I chuckled softly as I opened the front door, "Perhaps they're just weird." I replied, steeping outside and stretching, "Ahhh, it looks like a good day ahead."

"JOOOOOOHHHHHHNNNNNN!" Came a scream from the distance.

I looked around and didn't see anypony, then I looked up and saw a rainbow streak flying towards me with a vengeance. I decided to try out my new magical skills, thinking back on what Luna told me about manipulating earth, that it was like manipulating sounds. Dirt was like static, a mix of noise that was easy to mess with and didn't change too much. Stones, gems, and rocks are like specific sounds and tones, thus require specific ways of manipulation.

I got a magical grasp on the dirt around me and began to shift it, waiting for Dash to get close before I pulled it up and formed a wall in front of her. As I expected, she couldn't stop or pull of a ninety degree turn at such speeds so she ran right into the wall I had raised from the dirt. I didn't make it too solid, I didn't want to hurt her after all, and caught her with a loud 'whumph.' While still new at working with soil, I was able to quickly wrap the dirt around her, leaving her head out and restraining her movement.

I walked up to Dash and crouched in front of her, "Morning." I said, cocking an eyebrow, "To what do I owe the unexpected assault attempt?"

Rainbow Dash was grunting as she struggled against her earthen bonds, "Lemme go so I can kick your butt!" She demanded.

"Ummm, how about, I don't and you answer me?" I smiled.

"You hurt Gilda!" She snapped at me.

"Dash?" A confused Gilda walked out of the door and looked at the multicolored pegasus head sticking out of the wad of dirt.

"Gilda?" Rainbow replied, "What're you doin' here?" She asked, no longer struggling.

Gilda nodded to me, "John put me up for the night. Why are you wrapped in dirt?"

"She tried to dive bomb me, so I stopped her." I answered, sitting on the dirt wad.

"Cause you hurt Gilda for no reason!" Dash yelled up at me, "And get off of me!"

Gilda sighed heavily and shook her head, "Dash, its fine. I'm not saying it was fun or enjoyable, but it was justified."

"But-" Dash began.

"But nothin'." Gilda said, glaring at Dash, "You ponies might not be used to it, but I got off a lot easier than I would've if this had happened in the Griffon Kingdom."

I smirked a bit as Dash floundered for an argument and went silent, "Alright." She croaked weakly.

I got off of Dash and put the dirt back where it was meant to be, "So, what do you want to do now Dashie dearest?" I taunted softly, crouching in front of the now seated pegasus.

She glared at me a bit, then sighed, "Geez, I dunno." She shrugged, "I didn't really have a plan when I started."

I gave a cold smile and held up Rarity's necklace in front of Dash's face, "You know Rarity left me because of all this?" I said softly, noting Dash's eyes widening, "I won't say you did anything wrong Dash, most of this was my own fault really." I put my hand on her head and gave a cold, predators smile, "But your impulsiveness in the emotional aspect of all of this certainly didn't help." I let the necklace fall back to my chest, then stood, "Such is life." I said, lightheartedly and with a shrug, "I'm sure you and Gilda have some catching up to do." I said, waving at the Griffon absently, "I'll be inside putting a shirt on." I turned and left, ignoring the calls coming from the two speedsters.

I went inside and saw Berry and Pinchy in the kitchen packing a brown bag with what I assumed was Pinchy's lunch. I waved and ran upstairs, slipping a shirt on and tying a hoodie around my waist, then trotted back downstairs, "Mornin' all, what's up?" I asked as I stepped into the kitchen and planted a kiss on Berry's cheek.

Berry smiled and nuzzled my neck before returning to packing, "Not much, just packing Pinchy's lunch, then I was going to walk with her to the schoolhouse."

I smiled softly, "I think I'll tag along," I sat beside Pinchy and ruffled her mane, "That sound good?"

Pinchy laughed and hopped into my lap, "Yeah!" She said with a smile, "Oohhh," She looked up at me, "Hey John?" She said questioningly.

I smiled down at the filly in my lap, "Yes?"

"Can you stay at the school for Show and Tell today?" She gave me the biggest puppy eyes I had ever seen.

I was going to agree to it anyway, but you would have to be dead to resist those eyes, "Alright, I'll stay for Show and Tell." I said, chuckling softly. She squeaked with joy and hopped off of my lap, heading towards her room, probably to get her things together.

Berry came over and nuzzled my cheek, "She's been looking for an excuse to show you off, you know." She said, her eyes sparkling slightly.

I smirked, "Of course, I mean look at me." I chuckled softly, "Who wouldn't want to show me off?"

Berry swatted my arm, "And you're so humble to boot." She said with a smile, "I'm happy to see that you're feeling a little better babe."

I sighed and smiled sadly, "Not really." I leaned against Berry, "But it won't do me any good to linger on it." I stood up and stretched, cracking my back, "Besides, I've always wanted to meet yer sister."

Berry raised her eyebrows, "You know Cheerilee is my sister?"

I smirked, "I know a lot of things dear," I gave a low, throaty, chuckle into her ear, "Like your relationship with a Ms. Colgate?" I laughed softly as Berry stiffened up and blushed through her magenta coat, "I can hear Pinchy comin' back, shall we get ready to go?" I walked over to Pinchy, trailing my fingers up Berry's neck as I moved away, "Ready to go Pinchy?" I asked, smiling as the little filly nodded and trotted to the door. I heard Berry mumble softly as she came up beside us. We headed towards the schoolhouse, Pinchy in happily between myself and Berry, humming a chipper tune as we walked. We arrived at the schoolhouse just as all the other little ponies did, the bell ringing to signal the start of the educational day. I gave Berry a peck on the cheek and stepped inside, walking up to Cheerilee and explaining the situation as to my presence. She seemed to take in stride, smiling and telling me it was fine, then pointing to a seat behind all of her students so I wouldn't be a distraction. I grabbed a nearby book and began reading, glad that ponies, in a convenient twist of fate, used English as their primary written tongue.

It was probably two or three hours before the kids were let out for recess, and I was more than happy to stand up and stretch my legs out when they had all gone outside, "Sorry if I've intruded at all Cheerilee." I said, walking up to her, "Pinchy was just so eager to bring me here though, and I can't say no to that face."

Cheerliee smiled, "Pinchy is an adorable filly. And it's fine, I'm actually glad to see my niece acting so happy about show and tell."

I cocked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Cheerilee frowned a bit and looked outside at the scampering foals, "Well, Pinchy's never had a lot, not saying that she's want for any of the necessities, but shes never had any sort of genuine interest in anything, so she never brought anything to Show and Tell." Cheerilee looked at me and smiled, "I'm happy to see that's changed."

I smirked, "As am I." I leaned against her desk, "So, when am I going up front with Pinchy to be shown and told?"

Cheerilee smirked, "Since you're technically a guest, we'll let her go first so you can get it over with."

I chuckled, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

She nodded and went over to her desk as the foals began to file into the classroom, "Alright students, it's time for show and tell!" I heard some groans from the students, "Ruby, how about you come up first today?" Cheerilee said, smiling brightly at her niece.

Pinchy nodded eagerly and walked up next to me, "Hi everyone!" she said, waving one of her hooves, "This is John!" She gestured towards me, "He's from a whole other world and he knows the Princesses and fights monsters and can do super awesome magic and even let me and my momma live with him!" She said in one breath, finishing with a big smile.

A foal up front raised a hoof, "Ms. Cheerilee, can we ask it questions?" he asked.

Cheerilee looked at me and I shrugged, laughing softly, "Sure, why not."

I heard Silver Spoon speak up almost instantly, "Why don't you show us some of this _awesome_ magic you can do?" She asked snidely.

I smirked and pulled my gloves on chuckling as everyone's eyes got wider at the sight of the pitch black claws, "Alright, watch closely now." I said, pressing the two Spark Stones together and gathering the resulting sparks into my palm until I had a softball sized fireball floating in my hand. I split it in two and formed the flames into two butterflies that flapped around the room. I chuckled softly at the small ooh's and ahh's that came from the crowd in front of me, landing the fiery butterflies on my shoulders. They formed back into one ball of fire that I had float about the room absently, dipping towards the foals, only to pull up at the last minute, earning some squeals of glee. I brought the fireball back into my hand and shaped it into a rose, prepping for my last little trick. I brought it to my lips and blew gently, causing the fiery petals to fly out over the foals and float down slowly, fading into nothingness before they touched down on anything, "Satisfied?" I asked Silver Spoon, who had a look of wonder on her face. She was quick to put on her trademark pout and looked away, "Alright, any other questions?" I asked, looking out at the now eager faces.

Applebloom raised her hoof and I nodded at her, "Did yew have any family back where yer from?" She asked, tilting her head. Pinchy blinked and looked up at me, her eyes asking the same question.

I sighed softly and thought for a moment, "Yeah, I did." I said, smiling sadly, "I had my mom, dad, a little brother and my best friend, who was like a brother for my having known him for so long."

"What were they like?" Asked Pinchy, looking up at me.

I stroked my chin, "Well, my dad was really the one who raised me to be me. Always taught me little life lessons when he could, and he always tried to be there for me when I was upset. Yeah, he was a little tough to deal with at times, but I loved him all the more for it." I sat up on Cheerilee's desk and laced my fingers together in my lap, "My mom was very stuck in her ways, and very preachy. Could go on for hours and end up saying the same thing over and over again, and I couldn't stand it." I chuckled sadly, "But she was always there for me, ready to do anything to see me happy. She was always worried about me, trying to give me medicine if I had so much as a sniffle, even going out of her way to buy me clothes when she thought they were fashionable." I wasn't really looking at the class now, "My little brother, man, he and I were night and day. He was sociable and had a head for business, though it was more like he just knew how to get money from people. Quick as a whip too, though mot much for bookwork, he was more a hands-on learner." I looked out the window, my eyes a little watery, "My friend? I knew him since I was young, and we've been best friends for, Goddess, nine or ten years, and we understand each other better than our parents do sometimes. We even planned on sharing a place when we had enough money to move out of our parents' places." I looked up and smiled, "That's the family I had, back in my home world." I felt a stray tear fall down my cheek, wiping it away with a claw, "Any other ques-" I was cut off by a puff of green flame in my face. The flame turned into a scrap of parchment with a note scrawled across the front, "John. Rarity found a huge gem and it attracted a dragon towards Ponyville! Please help!" Said the hasty scribble.

I jumped off Cheerilee's desk and walked to the door, "Cheerilee, keep the foals inside, I'll send someone to tell you when it's safe." I said, opening the door.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked, coming up behind me.

I twirled around and looked her in the eye, "Keep them inside." I growled before stepping out. I looked to the sky and saw a speck the size of a sparrow heading towards the center of town and it was getting bigger. I knew running wouldn't be quick enough, so I decided to try something I'd seen on a cartoon, shifting the dirt under my feet and riding it towards town. After falling on my face once, it turned out to be a much faster method of travel than my own two feet, getting me to town in a matter of minutes. I looked up and saw that the speck had grown, the details of the dragon becoming noticeable to the naked eye. I stood n front of the Carousel Boutique and pulled a shell of dirt over the building, hoping to buy some time as I hastily hacked together a plan in my head.

I pressed the two Spark Stones together, hard, gathering as much of a flame as possible before the dragon landed. When it did, the earth shook and shrieks of terror erupted from a good number of houses. I increased the heat of the flames and put a shell of fire around me, kneeling down as my crazy plan was put into effect. I closed my eyes and reach deep into the soil, using every ounce of willpower I had to ignore the dragon rampaging less than fifty feet away and pulling every stone I could magically grab together into one large mass. I pulled it all to the surface, the weight of the load pushing my magical strength to its limits, but I was able to pull the mass from the dirt. I seperated it into two smaller pieces and used the fires around me to shape them into crude spikes, then I pulled the fire shell off, quietly praying this crazy idea would work. I dove to the side, dodging a claw that was a large as I was, then looked up at the beast I was about to challenge. It was easily the size of a warehouse, it's eyes the size of beach balls and full of a primal rage, making me shake slightly in fear. I bit my lip and brought the first stone spike up, launching it up into the dragon's serpentine neck. The dragons head tilted downward as it coughed and gagged a bit, giving me the opportunity to shift the soil and launch myself into the air. I placed the second spike under me and aimed for the dragons head as I feel, covering the spike and myself in a sheet of fire. Using what little magical stamina I had left, I forced the flaming spike down as hard as possible, aiming for the crown of its skull.

It was all over in a moment, quicker than blinking, as I sat on top of the stone spike that was lodged inside the dragon's skull, "Fus Ro Dah, you scaly son of a bitch." I muttered, hopping off the spike, staggering as I hit the ground. Ponies were beginning to gather around the corpse, some of them being sick where they stood, all of them with haunted looks in their eyes. My mind was filled with nothing as I pulled down the earthen shell I had set up around the Boutique, turning back to the corpse before Twilight met my eyes. I collapsed the stone spikes, too tired to move them, then went to the mouth of the dragon, concentrating the flames I had to a white hot ball of death and pushed it into the dragons mouth, cremating it from the inside out. The process took a while, and all of Ponyville gathered to watch the morbid sight, some ponies praying to Celestia and Luna, other just frozen in place as the beast burned away in front of them. Later on, Spike told me Twilight was more afraid of me than she had ever been of anything else, more than handing in her report late, or of Discord, even Nightmare Moon.

When the fires were done, all the remained was ash, some scales, and the skeleton of the beast, the empty sockets glaring at me as I pulled the flames back to my side.I knelt to one knee and focused on the soil directly under the remains, exhaling softly as I exerted my magical will. I stood on the skull as my morbid parade float began to slowly move out of town, my fires flared behind me like a pair of flaming wings. Ponies scrambled to get out of the way as I made my way out of town, their eyes locked in gazes of terror as they looked at me. A few of them followed me, probably out of a morbid curiosity rather than any actual want to follow me, but I ignored them, my eyes flat, cold, and empty as I moved forward. Once I was far enough from town, I stepped off the skull and shifted the soil with a wave of my arms, creating a large hole in the ground in front of me. I turned and grabbed hold of one the skeleton's canines and pulled it out with a loud crack, tucking the morbid souvenir in my pocket before shifting the remains into the hole I had created. Once the bones had settled, I filled the hole back in and turned back to the crowd behind me, chuckling hollowly at the sight of both sects of the Royal Guard.

On of the Night Guard came up to me, shaking slightly, "C-Come with us... Please?" He asked, flinching as I gave a harsh laugh.

I looked at Canterlot, then back at the guards, "Let me get my stuff first, then we can go." I said, walking towards my house. The guards followed a small distance behind me, not willing to get close to the flaming wings I had left on my back.

As I got closer to my house, I saw Berry and Pinchy come up on my side, just looking at me with frightened eyes, "Berry," I said, causing them both to flinch, "The house and bits are yours, I'm just taking my things." I looked over at the two, "Pinchy, be good, yeah?" I went inside and packed my clothes into the large backpack Rarity had made, then left, knocking on the door jamb three times before I stepped outside.

The guards had a chariot waiting for me when I stepped outside, "Get in?" Asked a Solar guard, stepping back as I stepped into the chariot and sat down, leaning against the side and exhaling, releasing the tension in my shoulders. I closed my eyes and dozed off as we flew, a number of guards flying nearby, probably to keep an eye on me for any more behavior that would be frowned upon. I woke up after being prodded with, what revealed itself to be, the end of a stick being magically held by one of the guards. I got up, wings still aflame on my back, and they escorted me towards the now familiar throne room.

I walked up to the usual spot in front of the Princesses and knelt, banishing the flaming wings, "What happened." Demanded Luna, her voice crackling with ice.

I stood up and looked at the both of them as I pulled out the dragon tooth, twirling it in my palm then stabbing it a good two inches into the floor in front of me, "This." I said abruptly, going down on my knee again.

They were silent for a moment, then Celestia spoke, "Is that a dragon's tooth?" She asked slowly, walking up and tapping it with a hoof.

Luna came up as well, "Tia, what else could it be?" She snapped, "John, what exactly happened?"

I sighed and stood up, "I got a note from Spike saying that Rarity had found a gem that attracted a dragon. I got to town, put an earth shell around the Carousel Boutique, then hacked together a really stupid plan involving two stone spikes." I was meeting their eyes, "I used the first one to stun the dragon, launched myself into the air, sheathed the second in fire, then drove it through the dragons skull." I could feel them stiffening, "Then I used what fire I had, cremated it, and buried it outside of Ponyville." I smiled darkly, "Then I came here."

Celestia looked at me, then the tooth, then at Luna, then back at me, "John..." She shook her head and sat down on the floor, putting a forehoof on her forehead, "Just what can we do with you?" She said, "You can do things that even Luna and I aren't capable of, ponies can't help but love you when they first meet you, and you aren't even from this world!" Celestia looked at me, "What are we to do with you?"

Luna stood beside her sister, "Tia's right John, its obvious we can't keep you around normal ponies, and we have no idea how to send you home." Luna sat beside her sister, "We couldn't keep you in our prisons if we tried, and you're stronger and more capable than any of our guards." She looked at me, "We want to help you John, but you don't give us any options!"

It was quiet for a solid ten minutes before I spoke, "You said I could overpower your guard?"

Luna jumped slightly, then nodded, "Easily."

"Then let me join your guard." Their eyes widened, "Let me take control of my own unit, a medium between the two of you, directly under your control, but still separate from the Royal Guards."

Celestia cocked an eyebrow, "Why?"

I looked down and sighed, "Because you're right," I looked up at them, "I can't be placed among normal ponies, I can't live a normal life here." I sighed, then balled my hands into fists, "But I can try to help so that other ponies CAN have normal lives."

Luna looked at Celestia and then at me, "Give us a moment." She said, the two of them turning and walking a small distance away. I ran a hand over the dragon tooth in front of me, noting how easily it pierced the stone floor.

"John," The Princesses came back, "We have decided to try your offer, but we must do something first." Celestia said, "Please kneel."

I got on one knee, looking down, and the two of them began to speak at the same time, their horns glowing with magic"We the Celestial Princesses, rulers of the Sun and Moon, grant thee Knighthood." I saw an ethereal blade touch my left shoulder, "May you protect Equestria with all of your power, cunning, and kindness." The blade moved to my right shoulder, "Now rise, John, Knight of Equestria."

I stood, looking them both in the eyes, "Thank you, Princesses, I promise, I won't fail."

Celestia sighed softly and gave a tired, motherly smile, "I'm sure you won't."

Luna nodded, "What did you want to call your unit anyway?"

I tapped my chin and smirked, "The Dusk Brigade."

((OK SORRY. *bowing profusely* T_T

This took forever I know! My college classes have started up again, so my writing rhythm was thrown off.

ANYWAY. TIME FOR A BIG IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

So, yeah, the Dusk Brigade, its happening. However, seeing as how I only have two ponies in mind, I need to ask y'all a favor:

Submit pony recommendations or OC's you would like to see in the Brigade. There is a format to this though.

1. Name (OC's and regular ponies)

2. Description, both personality and physical (OC's only)

3. Bio/Background (OC's Only)

4. Why they should be in the Brigade (OC's and Regular)

5. What they would do in combat (OC's and Regular)

6. Opinion of me *John* (OC's necessary, Regulars recommended)

Either send the recommendation to me in an email, skype me, or message me on here!

I want to try and have 4 ponies submitted, cause I have two in mind, which would make a squad size of seven, which seems like a good size.

I'm counting on you guys!

Exanora/Sanguine Smiles/John))


	6. The Team is Chosen

I sighed, leaning back in the wooden chair I was sitting in as I pinched the bridge of my nose, and put down the stack of papers I had been holding. It had been a long month, going through the ponies who wanted to join the Dusk Brigade, but I had finally been able to find four others who seemed like they would be useful with training.

Maybe I should go back to the beginning of all this though, for clarifications sake.

(Approximately one month ago)

"The Dusk Brigade?" Celestia raised her eyebrow, "An odd name to choose John." She said.

I smiled, "Not totally, if you don't mind me explaining." She nodded, "See, you already have the Solar and Lunar Guards, each of which is dedicated to you both, perhaps a little more to their corresponding Princess." I pulled the dragon fang out of the ground, "However, I don't answer to one of you specifically, or at all really. I answer to you both and the need of all Equestria." I smiled and twirled the fang, "That's why I chose the Dusk Brigade, a time between Night and Day and it won't be made up of solely guard members but ponies who are willing to learn, travel, and fight for all of Equestria if need be."

Luna smiled, "Impressive."

I bowed, "You flatter me."

Celestia chuckled, "Well, the Dusk Brigade it is then. However, before all that, we have to address something concerning your new title."

I cocked my eyebrow, "What do you mean?" I asked, slightly concerned.

Luna smiled, "Each Knight is given a special suit of armor, as a functional symbol of their title." Luna and Celestia walked to my sides, "Come on, Tia and I will take you to the royal armorer and they can suit you up."

They took me down, deep into the belly of the castle and led me to a large stone room with what appeared to be a forge in the center, "Nice place." I muttered sarcastically. The Princesses called out to a unicorn who appeared to melt out of the shadows, his fur and mane blacker than coal, or covered in soot, considering the cloud that came up every time their hoof came down. The Princesses seemed to be content to stand off to the side as this mysterious pony looked me over and began pulling out ingots of metal.

"What's 'is 'filliation?" It said in an indeterminately husky voice.

"He's with both of us Forge Master." Answered Celestia, "Please find a balance between the two metals."

The pony nodded and looked over at me, "Right, whatchya want fer armor style and symbol? Heavy, medium, light, what?"

I scratched the side of my head with the tip of the dragon claw, "Umm, a medium would be good, no helmet if you don't mind, and..." I paused, then pulled down the collar of my shirt, revealing my tattoo, "This, make the center Celestia's sun, and the moon correspond to Luna's."

The black pony looked at the symbol and smirked, "Interestin', you want to use that thing too?" The Forge Master nodded at the fang in my hand. I shrugged and stuck it in the ground in front of me, "This oughta be fun." The Master's horn glowed and a roll of white cloth fell down in front of a nearby wall, "Stand there then." I walked over and stood, "Face forward, stand up straight, spread everything out, look sideways." I was quick to comply to the Master's orders, "Oh, and close yer eyes." I did and felt a wave of fine powder hit me, causing me to cough slightly, "There, now go wash up, I'll prob'ly be done 'fore you get back."

(Three days later)

I looked at Ponyville and sighed softly, memories welling up in my mind, as I walked into town, a Night Guard on one side, a Solar Guard on the other. The armor the Forge Master had made was clinking softly as I walked down the center of town. It was a medium plate armor made of, what I was later told was, Night Iron and Solar Platinum, making it incredibly strong, but light enough that my movements went unhindered. The mixture of the two metals caused a surprising reaction, turning the color into something between burnt orange and sanguine. After learning about my fighting style, and seeing the gloves I typically used, the Master made me a set of gauntlets that matched the functions of my old gloves, with one new feature: A retractable, Assassin's Creed style, dragon tooth knife in each gauntlet. One other feature of the new armor was a small cape thing that draped over my left arm, bearing the symbol I had decided on and that would soon come to be the symbol of the Dusk Brigade. I continued walking towards my goal, ignoring the looks ponies gave me as I passed, blocking out the whispers that came from all directions.

A short walk soon brought me to Sweet Apple Acres, whereupon I went up to the main house and knocked on the door, "Hol' on," Applejack opened the door, "Now, whut kin-" she paused as she saw me and the Guards flanking me, "John?" She asked, looking me over, "Whut the hay?"

I nodded, "I need to talk to Big Mac." I said flatly.

Applejack narrowed her eyes, "Why? Whut's goin' on?" Her eyes were defiant, "Ah ain't doin' nothin fer yew until y'all tell me whut's goin' on here!" Her hoof stomped on the ground.

At any other time, I may have been proud of her stubbornness, but not today, "Applejack, as a Knight of Equestria, so deemed by the Princesses Celestia and Luna, I demand you bring Big Mac to me this instant or face charges for interfering with business of the Royal Equestrian Armed Forces." I growled softly, giving her a withering glare.

Her pupils shrank and her ears went flat, "Bu-" She stopped as the guards on either side of me took a step forward, "Alrigh'." She said softly, looking down. I felt a slight twinge of guilt as she walked back in the house, but I pushed the feeling aside.

Big Mac came to the door, his stance indicating his anger, "Whut?" He asked, looking at me.

"You're coming with me to Canterlot in order to train for a special unit." I replied, looking him in the eye.

His eyebrow cocked high, "An' why would Ah do that?" He asked.

I gestured at the guards, "They will take your place while you're gone." I said, "And I'm not asking you to stay, just to come for the training. At most you will be there for five months while I gather other recruits."

"Five months?" He snorted softly, "An' if Ah don't want to go?" He said, his muscles tense in defiance.

I chuckled softly, "You don't get a choice Macintosh." I replied, the soil under my feet rippling, "If you come with me voluntarily, all the better, but if you choose to resist," Stone chains erupted from the ground and hung in the air behind me, "Then I will force you to come along."

Big Mac kept a defiant face, but I saw him break behind the mask, "Five months?" I nodded, "Ah don' have ta stay once it's over?" I nodded again, "Do Ah get any time ta pack?"

"You have fifteen minutes to say goodbye, anything else you need will be provided at the castle." I replied, letting the stone chains settle back into the ground. He sighed and nodded, turning back into the house.

(Two Days later)

Big Mac was set up in a room in the castle, unhappy but comfortable, and I was walking to a nearby village chasing after a mare of some repute. I saw her doing her show near the edge of the village, so I was content to lean against a tree and take in the sight until the crowd had dispersed.

I walked up to her as she began to pack up her caravan, "Trixie?" I asked, though I was sure it was her, given the hat and cape.

"The Great and Powerful Trix-" She saw my armor and paused for a second, "-ie, I'm sure you mean." She gave me a look, "What is it you would ask of The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

I smiled, "I'm here to tell you that you are coming for special training in Canterlot for a very selective unit. You would come to the training, do it, and then choose if you'd like to stay or not. Everything you need or want would be provided until the training starts."

Trixie finished packing her stage away, "And why do you want The Great And Powerful Trixie?"

I chuckled softly, "Because, outside of Twilight, you are one of the most powerful unicorns I know."

Trixie frowned, "Why not take Twilight Sparkle then?"

"Cause, I don't like her methods." I smirked, "She's stuck in her ways, to by the books." I pointed at Trixie, "You, however, are creative and capable of thinking on the spot, adapting to the situation."

Trixie smiled as I stroked her ego, "Correct as you may be, The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot just stop."

I went for the kill, "Did I mention that you would get monetary compensation for doing this?" I cocked my eyebrow and smiled. It didn't take much else to have Trixie agree to go to Canterlot and wait to start training, though she was put off by the fact that I would have made her come along anyway. I used my fast travel trick to get us to Canterlot in record time, impressing Trixie to a degree, though she didn't say it out loud. I had her things safely tucked away in the castle, along with a room set up for her, then I went to the throne room.

I found Celestia talking with a maid who was sent away as I walked in, "John, how can I help you?" She asked with motherly concern and care.

I bowed, "I need to ask a small favor."

Celestia tilted her head, "What is it you need?"

"I want you to spread my story through the guard and every city from here to the borders of the Griffon Kingdom." I said, "Then advertise a chance to be recruited to a very special unit under my command."

Celestia frowned slightly, "Your story?"

I nodded, "Everything from when I got here, up to my Knighting, nothing cut out."

"Why?"

"This unit will be doing things pretty similar to what I did. From running errands for you or some other dignitary, up to and including the elimination of any threats to the nation. They need to know what I've done before they work for me." I folded my hands in front of me, "It may frighten some of them away, it might attract some bad ponies, but it will bring the right ones too. Tell them to come here to the castle and to bring their information with the,."

Celestia sighed, then nodded, "Alright, I'll have it done as soon as possible."

"Thank you." I bowed, turning and walking back out of the Throne Room.

(Current Time)

I looked at the sheet of papers in front of me and sighed again. I had decided to have each applicant investigated for a few traits, the first being their name. Then I wanted their description, physical and personalities, followed by a bio. I then needed to know what they hoped to provide to the team, why they wanted in, and what they thought of me, even after all I've done. While I did know these were important things to investigate, what I didn't realize is how many ponies would actually apply. At best, I was expecting around twenty, yet almost one hundred and fifty applicants came by, and I had to pick four out of all of them.

It had taken nearly a week to weed out the totally unsuitable, leaving me with a sizable amount of possible recruits. Another four days and I was able to pick out the four I wanted, sending the others back, though not without some groans and grumbles. I had the four I chose along with Trixie and Big Mac brought to a small dining hall, where I was about to head down to. The pile of papers in front of me crinkled softly, then burst into flame, the fireball coming up to my shoulder. I had learned a few more magical tricks over the selection course, courtesy of Princess Luna. While I still couldn't summon a pure flame, I could magically increase the heat of object until they burst into flame, which was a substitute I was more than happy to take. I groaned a bit and stood up, stretching and clinking softly as my armor shifted, then made my way to the hall where my possible recruits waited for me.

I opened the doors and walked into the dining hall, which was more of a glorified dining room with a high ceiling, "Alright you all," I said, looking at the group of ponies seated around a round table in the center of the room, "I'm sure your curious about what I'm having you do, but first things first: Introductions." I pulled out a small stack of papers and sat down, "Yeah, you all are about to learn a lot about each other because I had some ponies investigate your pasts thoroughly, so deal with it," I looked at the papers and began to list off what they said:

"First off is our griffon friend, Thor. Abrasive, cocky, narcissistic, but with a strong sense of loyalty for his friends, and has a scar over his left eye, most likely from combat. He was a street brawler in the griffon kingdom and he was good at it, really good, the other griffons started a betting pool for the fights when he showed up. Almost everyone bet for Thor, but then one day a big shot gangster walks in on the scene bringing in a new fighter and has bet against Thor in favor of his own "champion," but hes not taking any chances, so hes forcing Thor to throw the match. At first Thor refused but then they started threatening him,they tell him that if he didn't throw the match, death would seem like paradise compared to what they were gonna do. Conflicted, Thor enters the ring and does the one thing that will haunt him for the rest of his life: He threw the match. He took the cowards way out and he hates himself for it. He couldn't stand being in the griffon kingdom anymore, everyone was saying that he did his best and that it was his time to fall and it ate him up inside. So he ran, took off to the closest town to find supplies and then he left the griffon kingdom. He ended up in Equestria, where he took to being a bouncer at a club in Manehatten, doing some band work on the side. He wanted to join the brigade because he felt that he wanted to make a difference, and to probably make up for when he backed out of that fight. Has some combat experience and is an extremely versatile fighter fit for stealth. Can do one on one and multiple opponents as well as possessing a berserker ability that increases his strength and endurance. Outside of combat hes a great musician, and a good singer, so he also has some entertainment value. He also knows to respect me and not piss me off under pain of pain."

" Next up, Lionheart. Green mane, brown/clay coat, green eyes, eath pony. Might seem very cold/disturbed at first, but he is very kind to his friends. Very courageous, as the name may suggest, and proven over many situations. Spent 5 years as the Equestrian Naval Force Captain, he retired due to various injuries sustained during his battles. When he recovered, they had a new captain, and positions weren't open anymore. Distraught, he was determined to show everypony just how good he was. He trained every day for over a year, hoping somepony would acknowledge him. After hearing about the me and the chance to be recruited, he becomes ecstatic knowing that he could finally rejoin the Equestrian Army Force and be recognized. Very courageous, excellent fighting skills from experience in the Navy, also giving him team skills. He can swim very well, unlike the common pony, thus enabling him to be the best fighter for an underwater battle. As a strong swimmer, he is able to traverse large rivers with little difficulty. Can throw a strong punch/buck, even helped the Apple family when it was apple-bucking season sometimes. He thinks my ways are a bit extreme, but that I am a hero nonetheless and respects me for it."

"He is followed by Ace. A pegasus who is kind, caring, funny,but he has a bad past, and is afraid of mirrors and the dark. He likes to make other ponies laugh though, so he's good in a crowd. Once through a bad past, specifics couldn't be tracked down, he left his parents and went out to find true friends and ponies to call his family. He eventually wound up in Canterlot and joined the Guard, to help and protect people. He would risk his life to save another, as he was trained to do but also because he wants to. He's been real good, rising through the ranks to serve and protect, earning the title of Captain of his own unit with some honors. Most suited to being a medic or a scout, possibly a combination of both. He's heard what I've done, and doesn't think I'm a bad guy, and even though my methods are a little extreme, I do it for a good cause."

"We then have Arrell, a royal blue pegasus pony with a messy yellow mane and tail. Brown eyes. Wears light blue glasses and a black watch. Cutie mark is a silver shield with a golden R in the middle. Snarky and sarcastic, though with a heart of gold. Willing to do anything for his friends. Does not let grudges go easily. Brave, unless obviously outmatched. He gets annoyed when ponies make fun of his glasses and absolutely enraged when his friends are hurt. His special talent is, as the shield represents, protecting others. Born in Fillydelphia, his parents died when he was young and he learned to fend for himself, leading to him becoming rather strong, especially for a pegasus. He got his cutie mark when he defended a young filly from a group of four criminal stallions. Arrell wants to join the brigade to help others, since he feels like he isn't making a big enough difference just by stopping the occasional criminal. Would likely be a straight-up fighter, since he has flight and extra power that normally only earth ponies have. Thinks I'm is pretty cool, but doesn't completely idolize me."

"Our magical muscle here is Trixie. Pastel violet fur, powdery mane, bit of a braggart, but strong, if unaccustomed to teamwork. Was shown up by Twilight Sparkle during an incident with and Ursa Major and left the performance circuit for a while, only to return with an act that hadn't changed much. I recruited her for the single fact that she is, next to Twilight, the strongest unicorn I am aware of and we may need some magical ability. Best suited to staying in the back and providing support in any form available. Frankly thinks the stories about me are likely exaggerated and wants to see me in action before she starts to believe them."

"And, finally, the big lug in red is Big Macintosh. Dark red coat, wheat colored mane, quiet and hardworking, hides a romantic side. Worked from birth to now on the Apple Family Farm, not much else to him than that. Shows traits of possessing a strategical mind, along with the fact that he's built like a damn thank. Probably going to be one of our heavy hitters and survivalists. At the moment, he doesn't like me, but he'll learn to tolerate me otherwise he will suffer."

I looked at the six pairs of eyes that were seated around me, "You all know me already, what you do not know is why you're here."

"I assumed we were joined a unit in the Royal guard?" Lionheart said, he voice questioning.

I chuckled softly, "Close. You are joining a special united formed by myself that answers to no one short of the Princesses."

Thor smirked, "So we can do whatever we want?"

"Unless the Princesses or myself says something, yes, we have free reign." I replied, "However, we will be serving Equestria and her citizens. That means we may be doing menial guard duty for the opening of a park in some mud hut village, up to eliminating monsters that most ponies would only have nightmares about." I unclasped the symbol from my shoulder and put it out on the table, "As of right now, you all are going to go through training that will take any time from a couple of weeks to a few months."

Big Mac gave me a look, but was cut off by Arrell, "Yeah, because we all want to be stuck doing push-ups for a few months." He chuckled.

I laughed softly, "You wish that was all I was going to make you do." I used the fire hovering beside me to create a firey line image of the Everfree, "I'm taking you all into the Everfree Forest. There we will teach each other skills that will be necessary to survive and perform proficiently."

Trixie scoffed, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is NOT-"

I brought a fist down on the table, cracking it cleanly in two and cutting off Trixie's speech, "All of you are doing this," I growled softly, walking to the center of the circle of ponies, "At the end, and only at the end, can you choose to leave and go back to your old lives." I turned slowly and looked each pony in the eyes, "During this time, if you choose to try and escape, I will have you found and imprisoned." Trixie squeaked softly, "This training will teach you many things, and not just from me." I pointed at Thor, "He will teach you how to be savage." I pointed at Lionheart, "He will teach you how to work as a team." I pointed at Ace, "He will teach you how to be loyal." I pointed at Arrell, "He will teach you how to give up everything for others." I pointed at Big Mac, "He will teach you how to be quiet and listen to the world around you." I pointed at Trixie, "And she will teach you all how to be confident." I folded my hands behind me, "Me? I will teach you how to be cruel, how to follow orders, how to be kind, how to rebel, how to save a life," I held my hands out and flicked out the hidden knives, "And I will teach you how to kill." I closed my eyes, "If anything, that will be your toughest lesson, but the most necessary of all of them." I opened my eyes and flicked the knives back into my gauntlets, "Spend the rest of the day getting to know each other and preparing, we leave tomorrow morning." I walked over to the door and put my hand on the door jamb, "I won't lie to you all, this won't be easy and there is a good chance that you will grow to hate me, maybe even die. I will do what I can to prevent that, but I want you all to understand that this is why I'm giving you the choice to leave when it's all over, just know that if you choose to leave, you won't be the same. If you choose to stay, then you will be serving Equestria and protecting everything that calls it home." I looked back at the six, "We will allow them to continue living their peaceful lives." I finished, walking out of the room, the door quietly clicking shut behind me, images of Berry, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Pinchy flooding my mind as some tears came to my eyes. I heard the others start talking in the room behind me as I walked back to my quarters.

I sat on the edge of my bed and looked at the small blue teardrop pendant in my hand, then sighed, clutching it in a loose fist, "I promise, I will make this work, even if I have to do it myself, I will allow you four to live peaceful lives." I sighed again and put a hand over my eyes, "Even if that mean being forced to find a way back home."

((Thanks for all of your submissions guys, I really appreciate it. ^_^

I'm sorry I couldn't use everyone's idea, but I had to pick four.

As always, leave a review, comment, or just send me ideas.

You all know that I try and involve my readers a little bit whenever I can, so here's a little challenge for you.

Submit any ideas/fanart/whatever you may or may not have made because of my little story and it may get featured in the next chapter, including your name or whatever alias you want me to use.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!))


	7. Training Interrupted

I woke up before the sun was able to peek over the horizon, groaning softly as I got out of bed and slipped into my armor, strapping Celestia's knife to my belt as I stepped out of the room. My feet led me to Thor's room, or maybe it was just dumb luck, regardless of whatever force brought me, I knocked.

"Yeah, c'mon in." He said from inside.  
>I opened the door and was surprised to find Thor up and ready to go, "Well, color me impressed." I said, raising my eyebrows.<p>

He chuckled, "Please, compared to the hours I used to work, this was like sleeping in." He stepped into the hall and looked at me, "So, we doin' this training or what?" He asked, smirking.

I nodded, "Yeah, we are." A thought came to mind, "How about you go and get the others up? I have to handle something. I'll meet you all out in front of the castle, yeah?" He gave an exasperated sigh, but went down the hall towards the other trainees. I walked over to the Throne Room and was happy to find Luna seated in her throne, staring out at the last of her moon as it set.

She looked towards me as I walked in, "Hello John, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked, giving me a kind smile as she waved me forward.

I smiled and walked up to her, "Not much, I just wanted to say goodbye before I took my team out to train them. I just..." I paused, "I dunno, I felt like it would be right to see you before I left."

Luna gave a soft smile and put a hoof on my arm, "I appreciate it John." She gave me a gentle push, "Now go on, you have ponies waiting for you." I bowed and left, walking out to the front of the castle and finding my future team waiting for me in various states of agitation.

They all perked up a bit as I walked down to them, then put on faces of concern as I walked past, "C'mon, I want us in the Everfree before noon." I said bluntly.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be spoken to-" Trixie began in her usual haughty tone.

I growled softly then grabbed her legs with a lasso of earth and hung her upside down in front of me, "Lesson one," I said loudly, glaring at Trixie and looking back at the now wide eyed group, "During this training, you will obey any orders I give, without question, comment, or snarky reply." I Glared at Trixie again, "Lesson Two: I don't care where you are from, who you know, what you do, or what you've done, during this training you will abandon any sense of superiority you may have because I will tear you down and, if necessary, I will BEAT this lesson into you with whatever I have on hand!"

I dropped Trixie unceremoniously onto the ground, "AM I UNDERSTOOD?" I shouted, looking at the whole group.

Trixie whimpered softly as she stood up, while Big Mac glared at me, his nostrils flaring.

I looked at Ace, who cringed slightly, "Help her out." I said, turning to look down the road, "The rest of you, follow me, that is an order." I started walking again and, after a moment's pause, I heard the soft clacking of claws and hooves following behind me.

(For the sake of both authenticity and time, I won't try to pretty up what happened during the next few months in the Everfree Forest, instead I will take the notes directly from a small journal I kept at the time.)

Day 1: We have entered the Everfree and I had the group set up camp in a small clearing. Big Mac, while still giving me dirty looks, was able to quickly set up a small campfire, showing the others how to do it as well. Given that we had made a hard march to the Everfree, the group was tired, so I spent the rest of the day showing them all basic camping skills, along with foraging and some first aid skills.

Thor: Seemed a little disappointed about the incident with Trixie, but was quick to shrug it off later that night. Lifted the group's morale with some songs and stories about his work in Manehatten. Had a good dialogue with Arrell.

Lionheart: Shows a lot of promise, given that he has military background. The incident with Trixie didn't seem to phase him, probably due to a boot camp type experience. Hoping to turn him into a possible second-in-command, given his past leadership experience. Gets along well with Ace.

Ace: Has a good heart, probably going to go along with idea of making him a medic, at the very least teaching him more advanced aiding skills. Was visibly shaken at the sight of what I did, so it's likely I won't be able to use him in combat situations. Gets along well with everyone, prefers Lionheart.

Arrell: Seems to respect me, maybe fear me a little, after the incident. Hoping I don't have to discipline him at all, but I don't expect the need to. Had a good talk with Thor.

Trixie: Got some of her vim and vigor back when we had settled in for the night, but lacked some of her usual gusto. Has promise, but needs to get rid of the attitude, hoping I don't have to beat it out of her. Seemed to hover near Big Mac after the whole thing was said and done.

Big Mac: Is pretty upset with me, I'll have to keep an eye on him. Took well to the camping lessons and has some knowledge of the Everfree. Seems to want to protect Trixie after the incident. Hoping to set him up as a second-in-command if Lionheart can't fit the bill.

Day 15: So far the whole group shows little progress. I've had them do a lot of physical and mental exercises and, while adequate, their skills are incredibly varied and specialized, making individual training sessions a must. On a positive note, they do seem to get along well enough, working together to keep the camp supplied with food, water, and keeping it clean. So far I've kept two small attacks away from the camp as the group is not ready for actual combat. I have set them up to spar each other on a rotating schedule for now, but I will have to face them myself soon enough in order to prepare them for an actual monster.

Thor: Has a lot of promise for combat from what I can observe, but has little ability to think creatively. His flight capabilities are exceptional, easily flying circles around Ace and giving Arrell a tough time in keeping up. He seems to respect Trixie's magical abilties, but doesn't like much else about her. He gives Big Mac a grudging sort of respect, doing the same for Lionheart. Has expressed a desire to spar with me several times.

Lionheart: Pulls the group together and is able to exert some command over them. Has some promise in combat and strategy, but lacks any and all ability to think creatively, probably due to his military training, preferring to resort to methodical military style tactics. Often comes up to me for further directions to dole out to the others. He and Ace are easy friends now, sharing stories and working well together. Says that Thor is are too unpredictable to work with, but is willing to do so if I command it. Seems to have taken Arrell under his wing in matters of teaching him formal fighting styles. He and Big Mac get along, due to their past work at the Acres. He seems rather neutral towards Trixie, respectful but not friendly.

Ace: Definitely not suited for combat, though he is surprisingly good at redirecting blows. I'll have Celestia or Luna send a crossbow over and see if he's a good shot, since we need a ranged fighter to work with Trixie. I will also start teaching him some emergency first aid techniques, should we need them in the future. Shares a decent bond with everyone, particularly Lionheart. Is developing a decent relationship with Trixie. Seems to admire Thor's fighting and flying abilities. Like to fly with Arrell on a casual level. Shares a love of some pony poet with Big Mac, I often see them comparing their favorite works.

Arrell: He's lost some of his cockiness and seems to take the training a little more seriously. Looks to Lionheart for combat training and advice. Has potential for one on one fighting, but would have difficulty with large group battles. Perhaps a crossbow for him as well, to compensate for his probably inability in group combat. Gets along well with Ace and Lionheart. Doesn't seem to like Trixie's attitude, but recognizes her magical power. Gives Big Mac a wary eye, seems like Arrell wants to spar with him. Constantly trying to win Race against Thor but falls short, causing some frustration.

Big Mac: He seems to have simmered down a bit, but is only obeying the orders Lionheart gives. I'll have to talk with him personally, maybe have a match to show him that I'm the one he needs to listen to. Overall, however, he is definitely built for heavy combat, showing surprising skill in one on one and group combat. He has a tendency to rely on his bucking skills, which leave him open, so I will need to try and break that habit. He and Lionheart see eye to eye, giving each other a measure of respect. Big Mac tends to baby Ace, and Arell a little bit, his botherly instincts kicking in, but he doesn't do it to a degree where interference is necessary. Big Mac and Thor have had a few tense moments, but I was able to step in and settle things quickly. He seems to have taken a protector role when it comes to Trixie, especially when I happen to be nearby.

Trixie: She definitely has the magical potential I thought she'd have and more, but her attitude still makes her difficult to work with. However, on a positive note, her showboating habits frightens off smaller animals and her skill with illusions can make simple spells seem more elaborate and dangerous.

Her ability to grasp a situation and flex to it is astounding, most likely due to her background as a showpony. She shys away from me a little bit when I walk by, but seems more confident when Big Mac is nearby. With the others, however, she has yet to form a strong bond, as her attitude makes it difficult for the others to get close to her.

I'll put in an order for some supplies to Celestia and Luna, once they get here I'll start sparring with the recruits and bumping up their training to specialized lessons.

Day 30: The Princesses were quick to fill my order for supplies. I was sent a few sets of training armor, several crossbows with a few quivers of bolts, magic restricting rings, some training daggers, training swords, two training claymores, and a training war hammer. I've had each recruit wear their armor constantly since the day it came in, so they can get used to moving in with the added weight. I've also let several small wild animals slip into the camp intentionally to test their newly acquired skills and, while they were able to handle them, they didn't do so without a number of injuries. I'll have to teach them brutality soon, along with control, though killing will not come for some time.

Thor: He's strong enough that I was confident he could handle medium armor, even when flying, and my confidence wasn't misplaced. He was definitely slower for a few days, and his movements weren't as wide, but he was able to regain his lost speed after getting somewhat accustomed to the new weight. I gave him the war hammer, as a bit of irony but also to work with his brute force style of fighting. His tension with Big Mac has vanished as the chance to fight me came forth. He has started listening to Lionheart whenever he relays my orders. Seems to have taken a shining to Ace, helping him get accustomed to the new armor/weight. Has been helping Arrell by doing mid-air combat training, getting Arrell used to his new armor. With the lack of tension between the two, Big Mac and Thor have become competitive rivals, each trying to outdo one another in strength and stamina. Thor has tried several times to talk to Trixie, but the situations have been rather awkward. They were able to strike up a good dialogue when he started telling her about old griffon folklore.

Ace: I had to give Ace the lightest armor available with lots of pockets, given his role would be that of a medic and crossbow pony. He seemed unsure about shooting other living beings, but I'll handle that in time, as he is an amazing shot. I also gave him several books on emergency medical treatment, medicinal herbs, and various illnesses for him to study whenever he had free time. While he didn't seem too terribly interested at first, I've caught him with his nose buried between the pages on several occasions. He and Thor have been working together to help each other with their armor. Ace seems to listen to Lionheart at the drop of a hat now, no longer questioning his orders. Has been training with Arrell to fly fas-

.

…

…..

…...

(About 4 weeks(?) later.)

Where do I begin? Well, currently, I am sitting in the middle of a large white void alongside some "dead" gods/goddesses and am stuck with an incredibly tough choice... I guess I should explain.

Whilst filling out my journal entry, I received a message from Celestia via whatever crazy farking magic she used to send it to me in the middle of no where. In short she and Luna had received reports of what appeared to be a cult raiding a village out in the countryside. Apparently the size of the raiding party was too big for the lone pegasus passing by to do anything about it, so they had made a beeline for Canterlot and reported the situation. Celestia and Luna both knew it wasn't something the Royal Guard could handle, trained as they were, they weren't prepped to handle this kind of ordeal, so they immediately sent for me and my hardly trained team.

By "sent for me and my team" I mean, they sent a note that said, "Don't Panic" and teleported all of us into the Throne Room at the same time, explained the situation to me while the others flailed and freaked out as they were, abruptly, woken up by the cold marble floor. One explination later I got the usual cavalcade of protests and agreements which were quickly silenced by a glare and the cracking of the marble floor around them. I turned back to the Princesses and told them it would take at least two days to prep the whole team for an investigation and possible assault, factoring in the reality that my team needed to be equipped with real armor and weapons. Celestia and Luna seemed slightly upset by the delay, but nodded in understanding. I bowed and turned to my team, immediately ordering them to the Forge Master's lair to begin fitting them with weapons and armor. I heard Trixie grumble slightly, but they all went with a guard to guide them. I sighed softly and looked at the Princesses, "They aren't ready, you know." I said, running my fingers through my hair, "Goddess, they barely know how to hold their weapons properly, let alone use them in combat."

Celestia closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh, "I realize it will be difficult John, but you must get this under control, if not for Equestria, then for us." She opened her eyes and, for a moment, I saw a tired ruler who had been alive for centuries and not the usual Princess we were all so accustomed to beholding.

Luna nodded and walked over to me, "My sister speaks truthfully John. We know it will be a challenge at under the best circumstances, but you must learn the cause of this event and stop it." Luna looked over at Celestia, "Tia, go to sleep, I'll keep John company." Tia looked like she was about to object, but a large yawn cut her off, "Go on Tia, I promise to tell you if anything happens." Luna smiled at Celestia as she walked off, then turned to me, "We have to talk John." She said in a grim tone.

I nodded and followed her to a small balcony overlooking a moonlit Canterlot, "You seem concerned." I said, leaning on the railing.

Luna stood beside me and looked up at her moon, "Anyone in my position would be, though my worry is not for the reason you would expect." I cocked my eyebrow as she paused, "Did you know that, for hundreds of years, the moon has been associated with foresight?"

I nodded again, "Yeah, we had the same sort of stories in my world. Still do actually, though its more in fairy tales."

Luna smiled softly, "Well, another thing our worlds have in common." She chuckled softly, "Well, in this world at least, there is reason for it." She turned towards me, "You see, myself and those who are of a lunar persuasion can, on occasion, see into the future."

I raised my eyebrow higher, "Is that uncommon?" I asked, thinking about the fact that the whole of this world was filled with crazy magic.

Luna nodded, "While time travel is possible for us ponies, we can only ever go back to the past for a brief moment. The future is unattainable, except for those of us who can catch the occasional glimpse of it."

"Ah, so what does this have to do with me?" I asked, leaning back against the railing and crossing my arms.

Luna was silent long enough that I nearly repeated my question, "I saw you with a group of ponies I once knew and..." She looked down and then over at me, "Just be sure of your choices John, that is the most I can honestly tell you." She turned and wrapped one of her wings around my shoulders, "Join me in my quarters tonight John." She said bluntly, leading me with her wing.

"I, uh, what?" I took a second to gather my thoughts, "Luna, I'm flattered but-"

She giggled, "Not like that, just share the bed with me tonight, please?" She gave me a soft smile with big eyes that I couldn't say no to.

"Fine, fine, just stop with the face." I replied, smirking and falling properly into step beside her. We stayed in a content sort of silence as we walked to her room, the sound of our steps softly echoing through the empty hall. When we arrived, I noticed the room was pretty much the same since the last time I had seen it, though a few of the magical items from the old castle were about the room now.

Luna magically took off her tiara and chest piece, then went over to the bed and laid down.

She looked at me and gestured to my armor, "Take all of that off, please. It must be uncomfortable to sleep in." She said.

I shrugged and began taking off the armor, "You get used to it after a while." I said, slipping the gauntlets off. In a few minutes I was down to my boxers, my armor and the clothes I wore under it resting neatly in a corner, "Better?" I asked, feeling weirdly light now that the armor was off.

Luna smiled, "Much." She patted the space beside her with a hoof.

I settled in beside her, my hands behind my head, "Luna, what exactly did you see?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"... I would recommend that, tomorrow, you go down to Ponyville and talk to those mares you were familiar with while your team is fitted." She said.

"Um, okay, why?" I asked, rolling over to look at her.

She looking me in the eye and gave me what may have been the saddest smile I've ever seen, "See them John, it will do you some good." She wrapped her hooves around my shoulders and pulled me into her chest, "Now sleep, I'll wake you at the right time." She started humming softly, a tune that felt familiar in the back of my head, but couldn't quite be placed.

I was going to object and try to grill her for some answers, but her fur was soft against me and I was tired and the bed was so soft compared to the forest floor, so I was out in a matter of moments.

(*hides behind a large shield* Okay, here's your chapter!

Sorry this took so long guys, but SO MUCH SHIT has been going on in my personal life what with school, work, my old laptop just about exploding, I was delayed, a lot... Sorry. _

Anyway, here it is, as always I appreciate your input and comments, and ask that you continue to tell me what you do and don't like.

On another note: I'll soon be attempting to start a new story, either a clop-fic or an original story featuring an OC character of mine.

Hell, I'll even take requests from y'all about stories you would like me to write, provided they aren't stupid ideas. ^_^

All Glory To The New Lunar Republic, the next chapter will start Tuesday and I'll ttyl.)


	8. Relations Managed

I woke up at what must have just been an hour after dawn, given that the sun was only a little over the horizon. I sat up and looked around, noting the lack of Luna beside me, then stood up and stretched, cracking various joints as I pulled a shirt on. Off to the side of the room I saw a pair of doors open and Luna standing on a balcony outside.

Stepping up beside her, I coughed softly so I wouldn't surprise her, "Doing your royal duties?" I asked, noting the magical aura around her horn.

She smirked, "I'm surprised to see you up this early, especially since you've just gotten back from the Everfree forest." Her horn stopped glowing and she turned towards me.

I shrugged and smiled, "I got used to keeping pretty early hours since I'd have to fend off the odd monster or two that would come by." Luna cocked her eyebrow as she walked back into her room, "It's fine, a little fire or a shake of the ground and they'd scamper off."

Luna gave a small sigh of relief, "Well I'm glad it wasn't anything you couldn't handle." She watched me as I slipped back into my armor, "Since you're up, would you like to join me for something to eat? You can tell me your plans while we dine."

I smiled and nodded, "That sounds great Luna. Maybe we can discuss what happened out in the country?" She nodded and we walked down to the kitchens, where I noted a cook had already prepared a few simple dishes, probably accustomed to Luna's nocturnal hours. A moment or two later we were seated and Luna had explained what had happened. It seems that the raiding party had taken a number of items and had kidnapped quite a few ponies as well. I made a mental note to look into what was stolen to see if there might be a connection, seeing as there wasn't much information as to who or what actually raided the village.

Once the meal was done, Luna offered to send me off to Ponyville via teleportation and, while I was loathe to be teleported again, I agreed as taking a chariot seemed a little much. Luna touched her horn to the top of my head and a veil of darkness fell around me. When it faded away, I found myself in Ponyville, in the middle of Sweet Apple Acres to be exact.

"John? Whut in th' hay're you doin' here?" asked a familiar voice behind me. I turned around to see Applejack walking up to me, empty baskets balanced on her back.

I lifted a hand in greeting, "Hey AppleJack, Princess Luna said she'd send me back into Ponyville, guess she was a little off target though." I chuckled softly, "Whats new?"

She cocked her eyebrow, but decided to put the baskets under a tree and start bucking, "Not much, just pullin' in th' harvest. Those two guards yah left have been helpful, considerin' yah took Big Mac." She paused, "How's he doin'? And shouldn't y'all still be out trainin' or whatever?"

I shrugged, "Big Mac has been good, one of my most promising actually." Applejack had a proud smirk on her face, "And I can't really tell you why training was cut short. All I can say is that we were called in for reasons that will remain unspecified."

She sighed, then nodded, "Ah suppose ah can't convince you to say nothin more either?" I shook my head, " Shoot. Well here," She lobbed an apple my way, "A snack to munch on while yer walkin ta town." She gave me a friendly grin and resumed her bucking. I took my cue to leave, biting into the apple as I headed towards my house, though I had technically given it to Berry. It was a nice walk, accompanied by the sounds of the world waking up: birds chirping, squirrels chittering, bears farting, the usual stuff.

I soon found myself outside my home, noting the second floor had been added while I was away. They had done well, I could see a cupola with tall windows to let in a lot of light set up off to the side. I walked up to the door and knocked softly, unsure of what it was I was hoping to find. I waited for a few minutes, tapping my fingers against my leg, the armor clinking softly.

The door opened and a magenta head poked out, rubbing an eye, "Mmmm, yes?" She blinked sleepily, "How can I..." Berry trailed off as she took in the sight of me in my armor, "John?"

I smiled softly, "Morning Berry, mind if I come inside?" She shook her head and opened the door wider, "Thanks." I said, stepping inside. I looked around, noting that not much had changed, aside from some clutter that I assume was left from the CMC's and Pinchy playing.

Berry walked up beside me and looked me over, "... Can I get you anything?" She asked, her tone slightly cautious.

I chuckled, "Some water would be fantastic, thanks." She nodded and went towards the kitchen, while I decided to take a seat on the couch. I heard a soft padding coming down the stairs and saw Desmond waddling his way down. He looked over at me, blinked, then waddled over and curled up against my thighs with a soft 'wuff,' proceeding to fall asleep almost instantly. I chuckled softly and patted his head, happy to see him content with the world.

Berry put down a tray with a glass and a pitcher of water on the coffee table in front of me, "So." she began, sitting on the couch beside me, "I see you've been busy." She said coldly, nodding towards my armor.

I gave a weak laugh, "That's one way of putting it, I suppose. There's been a lot going on, after the whole dragon incident." I poured myself a glass and took a sip of water, holding onto the glass gingerly, as not to scratch it.

Berry huffed softly, "So I've heard." I cocked my eyebrow, "The Night Mare was pretty lively when you put out your recruitment forms." She paused and looked away, "So what have you been up to?"

I shrugged, looking into my glass and swirling the water slightly, "I was in the Everfree, training my team and I got called in. I'd tell you more, but I'd rather keep the details under-"

My sentence was cut short as Berry pinned my down to the couch, her hooves on my shoulders. She was looking down at me, her eyes glistening, "So you thought it would be alright to just leave and play super soldier?" She glared at me, "Did you even consider how Pinchy would feel after you left? Do you know she's been miserable? Do you know I'VE been-been..." She choked slightly and laid herself down on my chest, crying softly, "You just vanished and you never sent us any sort of message..."

I was at a loss for words as I gently wrapped my arms around her and sat up, holding her gingerly against my chest. For a few minutes I just sat there, stroking her hair, humming softly, until she had calmed down.

I pushed her away slightly, "One second." I said, noting her confused look. I decided to try a feature the Forge Master had mentioned about my armor. I tapped a small plate in the middle of my chest and another on my right hip, exerting a small amount of magical will on each. The result was my armor shivering, then receding in a manner similar to a telescope until the only sign of my armor was what covered my chest and upper back. I would try to figure out how this impossible thing happened, but I decided to leave it as magic not having to explain shit. Berry's eyes were wide, but closed as I leaned in and gave her a kiss. It lasted for a few moments before I pulled back, my hand resting on top of her head, "I'm so sorry Berry, I just didn't want you and Pinchy to become outcasts for associating with someone like me, especially after all that's happened."

She gave a small smile, "John, you make us happy, so buck whatever anypony else thinks." She nuzzled my neck, "So long as you're here, it'll work out." What followed was some happy make up... stuff, a nice early lunch, a happy/tearful reunion with Pinchy, and some serious cuddling with them and Desmond.

I looked at a nearby clock and sighed softly, standing up, "Whats wrong?" asked Berry, stroking the mane of a napping Pinchy.

I scratched my neck, "I'm only here for the day and I wanted to try and see if I could talk to Rarity before I have to head back to the castle." Berry frowned, "Don't worry," I said reassuringly, "I promise, once this is all said and done, I'll come back."

She sighed, then gave me a soft smile and nod, "Alright, I'll hold you to that." I walked over and kissed her softly, then gave Pinchy a soft kiss on the cheek, and headed out the door. It was mid afternoon by now, and I figured that Rarity would probably be hard at work, as she was prone to do, so I headed towards the Carousel Boutique. I was more than aware of the looks I was earning from the ponies I passed by, even more so of the ones who saw me and immediately changed direction. I sighed softly and continued onward, ignoring the other ponies around me, keeping one particular pony in mind. The Boutique was looking as splendid as ever, and the dresses in the windows were as picturesque as usual, causing me to smile a bit, happy that Rarity seemed to be doing well. I opened the door, causing the small bell above to tinkle softly as I walked in.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!" Came a formal voice, "How can I..." Rarity paused as she saw me standing at the door, "John? What are you doing here?" She asked, then she saw the chest piece, "And what are you wearing?"

I chuckled, "Just wanted to stop by is all Rarity." I replied, tapping the center of the chest piece, "And this is my new uniform." I finished, the armor clicking into place as it telescoped outwards to cover me.

Rarity's eyes were wide and her mouth was open as my armor slowly bu surely covered my body, the blood-red metal reflecting light all over the room.

She was at a loss for words for a moment or two, "I-I see." She turned towards her work table, "That is quite impressive John." A few bits and baubles began to move about, surrounded by a light blue aura that was Rarity's magic.

I sighed softly, "Thanks." I replied, stepping up beside her, "What are you working on?"

Rarity didn't turn to look at me, "A piece for Fleur de Lis, she's rather fond of my work, it seems."

I smirked, "As anybody should be."

Rarity paused again, then put down her tools and looked at me, "Why are you really here John?" she asked, looking me in the eye.

I chuckled hollowly, "I suppose just stopping by wouldn't be a valid excuse?" Rarity raised her eyebrow disapprovingly, "I suppose not." I sighed, "Honestly? I want to know where we stand Rarity."

I replied, looking her in the eye.

She turned and began walking away, "I'm not sure what you mean." She replied flatly.

"You know exactly what I mean." I said, pulling out the azure teardrop pendant and holding it in front of her.

Rarity turned away and began straightening the hem of a dress, "I hardly think this is an appropriate time to discuss that."

I growled softly, "Rarity, listen. I head out tomorrow for something that the Princesses asked me to do, so please begrudge me a few minutes of your time at the very least."

She turned to me with a slight glare, "Fine." she said curtly

"Thank you." I leaned against a wall, "So, whats going on between us? After the whole Gilda thing, I wasn't sure where we stood. Then the dragon came along and that sort of made me lose track of what was going on here."

Rarity gave a small tired sigh, "John, I can't honestly say that things are good between you and I." I raised my eyebrows, slightly surprised, "I understand that you had good intentions, but things around you are just... chaotic seems like an understatement." She came up to me and put a hoof on my arm, "Please understand, you are still very special to me, but I don't want a partner who brings a tornado with them everywhere." She looked at me with a sad smile, "Maybe someday, if things around you settle down, then we can be together again, but for now I think it best we remain friends."

I sighed and gave her a small smile, "Alright, sure, friends." I put the necklace on her worktable, "I guess I'll see you later then... friend." I quickly walked out of the Boutique, closing the door behind me. I don't quite remember how I spent the rest of my day, most of it passed in a haze of me not trying to think too much. What I do recall is laying in a field, toying with some flames and rocks, sculpting various effigies and statues of whatever came to mind.

It was early evening and the sun was just finished setting when a Solar Guard came by to pick me up. He probably gave me some sort of greeting, but I didn't pay much attention and gave a noncommittal response which was followed by a flash of dark. When I could see again, I found myself in the throne room in front of my now fully equipped team.

Thor hard a large warhammer strapped to his back, the head of which was a stylized eagle featuring the beak as a lethal looking spike, while his armor was streamlined, the plates sliding smoothly over one another to allow for maximum speed and protection. Lionheart's armor seemed to be similar to the style of the Royal Guard, however it featured armor for his flank and lacked the usual head decoration, instead going for a pair of small wings on either side of his face. Ace had a fairly large crossbow and quiver of bolts strapped to his back, his armor made of studded leather and featuring a lot of pockets and pouches for first aid gear. Arrell also had a crossbow and quiver but much smaller in both regards, his armor was similar to Thor's, though it looked much lighter and featured small spikes on his legs and shoulders. Big Mac wore the the heavy plate armor well, studded as it was with strategic spikes and knobs, I noted that his flanks were more lightly armored, probably to allow for quick bucking kicks. Trixie's horn was protected by a styled tiara piece, while the rest of her was covered in what appeared to be light leather armor, though I could see plating over her chest and some around her neck. Each of them had a small cape of their left leg, featuring the symbol I had on my cape. Looking over to the side, I saw the Princesses looking at me expectantly.

I cocked my eyebrow, then looked back at my team and put my hands behind my back, "TEAM!" I barked, causing them to snap to attention, "I see you all were equipped rather well," I smirked, "And I'm happy to see that." I began to pace slowly, "Tomorrow we have out first official mission as assigned to us by Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. During this mission, I cannot say that I know what will happen to us. It may be that it was a simple kidnapping/robbery and our perp wants some sort of ransom. If this is the case we will do our best to discover the location of the missing ponies and secure their safety. However, it may be that something much worse has happened and we may have to fight. Should this be the situation, then you will listen to my orders and the orders of your commanding officers." I turned towards the group, "Should we be split up, you are to listen to Lionheart and obey him as you would me." I closed my eyes and paused for a second, "We are not a perfect team and we are still pretty much strangers to one another. However, I selected each of you because you all have talent and potential in your own fields, and I know that, despite out differences, our strengths can outweigh our weaknesses in any situation that we may face." I stood at the end of the line and looked at them, "We are the Dusk Brigade, an elite team that stands outside common law, answering only to the Princesses themselves, we will ensure the continued safety and happiness of Equestria and we will find these missing ponies, am I understood?" I heard a few mutters of agreement, a loud agreement from Lionheart, and a haughty snort from Trixie, "I said, AM I UNDERSTOOD?" the floor beneath them shifting threateningly.

"YES SIR!" they all replied.

"SALUTE!" I shouted, each of them saluting, "NOW, all of you eat well and then immediately go to sleep. DISMISSED!" They all walked off towards the kitchens, muttering amongst themselves. Celestia yawned and waved, vanishing in a quick flash of light, while Luna walked up to me with a gentle smile.

"You speak well." She said, motioning for me follow her, "How did your day go?" She asked.

I shrugged, "Berry was more than happy to have me, but Rarity thought it best to remain friends." I finished with a touch of sadness.

Luna frowned, "That's a shame." I shrugged again, "Would you care to join me in my room again?" she asked, looking over at me.

I detected something in her voice and cocked my eyebrow, "I'm going to assume you mean in the same way as last time?"

She giggled softly, "Maybe. I've got a bottle of Moonbeam Liqueur that may change that. Come." She said, walking down the hallway to her room. I smirked and chuckled quietly, deciding to just go with whatever flow may happen. Worst thing that could happen is that I have an interesting night before my first mission, and an interesting story to go with it.

((Note from the Author:

Lo all! Sorry about pretty vanishing from time and space, stuff just piled up and I lost my inspiration to write for a long while. However I was reading some old fanmail and I was motivated enough to put out a new, if not totally fantastic, chapter!

Seriously, you guys rock, and I hope that you all manage to help me along into finishing this tale off!

Much love

-Exanora))


	9. Investigations and a Choice

The night passed quickly, and it seemed far too soon that I found myself on a private train towards the town that had been raided. I was sitting in a room by myself, not really thinking of anything as I watched the landscape flash by in a blur. My team was spread about the train, putting on their armor and prepping their gear for the investigation. Having been in the habit of always wearing my armor, I found myself with little to do other than wait for one of them to report to me when they were ready. Thankfully I didn't have to wait terribly long, as I heard a knocking coming from my door.

Trixie walked in, "The team is ready," she said, "but The Grea-" she paused and shook her head slightly, "I need to ask you to help with these." She pointed at the rings around her horn. I smirked as I went over to help remove the magical restraints. It may have taken a while, but Trixie had learned to stop referring to herself in the third person, though she did slip at times.

"There." I said, the rings jingling in my palm, "So, how much longer until we get to the town?" I asked, tucking the rings into my bag.

Trixie's horn flared as she began to levitate a few small objects, "That feels so much better." She said before nodding to me, "From what the conductor told us, it will lonely be another few minutes."

I nodded and stood up, "Alright, let's go then." I said, waling out of the room and towards the front of the train, careful to watch my step as it began to slow down.

Ten minutes later I was standing in front of my team, giving them orders to spread out around town and gather what information they could, making sure they knew to keep notes of what they learned. They saluted and dispersed, each going up to a pony to start investigating. I looked around and could almost see the veil of sadness that hung over the town, made evident by the hunched shoulders and downward gazes of the ponies who were milling about. As I began walking around, I noted the lack of destruction, everything was in place and not a single window was broken, which was surprising given how much I was led to believe had happened.

I spoke with a sand colored pony and found out that it had happened overnight and was not so much of a raid as it was silent theft. They had looked around and found all the doors to the houses that had been robbed of items and occupants, were unlocked. It seemed the thieves had copies of the keys, as the locks had no evidence of being forced open either. When I asked about what/who had been taken, the pony sighed and rubbed his neck. Apparently what had been taken was an assortment of stuff, some of it valuable, most of it not. As for the ponies who were taken, it was mainly mares and their children, but a few single ponies were taken, shop owners apparently.

I thanked the pony for his help and wandered over to one one the houses that had been robbed. I looked at the area around the door, trying to see if I could find any sort of evidence of the perpetrator(s). After a few minutes of looking I sighed and gave up, leaning against the wall. I looked down at the ground and saw something shiny sticking out. Being a curious creature, I knelt down and picked up the object, which revealed itself to be some sort of shiny black rock. What bothered me was the fact that it didn't have the heft of a stone, nor did it look native to the area, being more akin to obsidian than any other rock, and a quick scan of the landscape would reveal a severe lack of volcanoes or magma that could form that kind of stone.

I saw my team walking up to me and put the thought of the odd stone out of my head while I listened to their reports. They were all fairly similar to what I had already heard, no real evidence of a break in, some missing items, some missing mares/fillies/colts, and no idea of whodunnit.

I asked if they knew any of items that were taken, as we may be able to gather some idea from that. Lionheart handed me a fairly extensive list of what had been taken, apparently the pony he had spoken to kept records for a living and had made some lists immediately after the incident. Looking over the items, we were able to note a pattern of antiques, heirlooms, and childrens toys.

I stroked my chin and sighed, "Some of this stuff could be sold for a solid bit of cash, but a lot of it seems worthless outside of sentimental value." I said, running a hand through my hair.

Trixie made a noise, then shook her head, her hoof on her chin, "Sir," began Lioheart, "Permission to speak?" I nodded and he cleared his throat, "Perhaps we could begin searching for evidence of the perps? No crime is flawless, so we might find something they left behind." I nodded and sent them off in teams of two to investigate houses that had been robbed. I looked back down at the stone in my hand and squeezed it between two fingers, cocking my eyebrow at its reaction. Instead of holding it shape or just snapping in half, it bent and then broke, leaving some sort of oil on my fingers. Looking at the two pieces in my hand, I was thoroughly convinced that what I had wasn't a stone, but something more... organic.

I saw the sand colored pony I had spoken to earlier and waved him over, asking if they had any sort of animals in the area. He shook his head and said that the only things that came out to the town were ponies and buffaloes on occasion, mainly for rest and trade while they were traveling. I asked if they ever had any insects, showing him the small black chips in my hand. As he was beginning to speak, I saw his nostrils flare as he put on a dreamy expression, looking off into the distance as his speech trailing off. I put the chips away and quickly brought him back to attention, asking what had happened, but he gave me a look and asked if I had seen a "beautiful red mare" somewhere nearby. I shook my head and he sighed, answered my question by saying that, no, they never had any bugs, then left looking somewhat upset.

My forehead was creased in confusion as I pulled the black chips out and looked at them. I figured they must be some sort of shell, give their pliability, but I couldn't for the life of me guess what kind of creature they could have come from. Deciding to be a little stupid, I brought them to my face and took a sniff. The scent was familiar, but I couldn't place it immediately as a small haze entered my mind, which I was quick to shake off. I tucked the chips away again, then went off to gather my team and see what they had found.

Night fell hard on the town, the dark quickly enveloping the area. I sat in a small office that was on the train and compared the notes my team had taken. Much of it was similar to what I had already learned, the differences being small, aside from a pony who had seen a dust cloud headed north-west. We had to assume that was the direction they ran, so we were headed that way come morning. On the desk I was sitting at were the two black chips. I wasn't sure what to make of them, other than they were the only clues we had to the identity of the perpetrator.

A knock came from the door and I turned around to see the sandy pony from earlier, a tray with a small bowl of fruit and a pitcher of water carefully balanced on his head, "Figgered yah might be hungry." He said with a smile, carefully placing the tray beside me.

I smiled, "Thanks." Turning back to the notes in front of me, I grabbed an apple and took a bite, "So, what do you need?" I asked, circling a few things with a quill.

"Jus' need yah to take a nap." He said. I turned around to meet something large and heavy that wanted to make friends with my face, the shame is that I was knocked out by its vigorous hello.

.

..

…

"Wake up boy."

…

"I said wake up!"

I felt myself being shaken vigorously, but I was reluctant to try and stop it as my body felt like bags full of lead powder.

"Ugh, you're making this unnecessarily difficult for yourself." I felt something being poured over my head, to which I responded by flailing violently and getting to my hands and knees. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the wooden floor of the office I was using on the train, but was instead greeted by blinding whiteness, and some dingy brownness that was also dripping from my hair. Brownness that smelled like chocolate milk.

"Goddess..." I muttered, staggering to my feet, "What?" I looked around and saw endless white, save for the brown stain I was standing in, and that was slowly fading away.

"Took you long enough." Came a voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw the floating menagerie known as Discord, "I don't suppose I'm dreaming, am I?"

He shrugged, "In a manner of speaking, yes you are." Discord sighed and scratched his ear, "Welcome to the Aether."

I cocked my eyebrow, "Aether?" I asked, doing what I could to rid my hair of chocolate milk.

He nodded in a very bored fashion, "The origin place of all magic, normally shapeless, but the others have made me take form so you could have a familiar face."

"Others?"

He gave an exasperated sigh, "Let me explain it like this." He gestured to the whiteness around us, "The Aether is the place where magic comes from. Some ponies have the ability to tap into the Aether more than others, which is why they have more natural magical ability than others. Now magic itself is an exertion of will on the world. Even those not magically inclined can affect the world via the Aether." Discord began floating off and I decided to follow, "I'm sure you are... intimately associated with the Princesses, yes?" He gave me a knowing look and I coughed softly, "They are the ponyfications of the actions of the moon and sun. They were brought about by the strong desires of the ponies who wanted to understand the celestial bodies." Discord paused, "They weren't the first however."

"I'm sorry?" I said, tired and confused.

"Ponies from years past wanted to have a being that they believed controlled the aspects of the world around them. So the Alicorns, and myself, came to be." Discord stopped, "But, as ponies began to understand the world around them, fewer and fewer believed in the old Alicorns and, as such, the will to have them around weakened until they finally returned here, to the Aether." Discord nodded towards blobs of color that were beginning to take shape, "However, their consciousnesses still exist, so here they all are," He gestured to the alicorns lined up in front of me, "The old gods of Equestria. Now if you excuse me, I'm going." He floated away, grumbling to himself.

I looked at the group in front of me and raised a hand, "Um, hi."

.

..

…

Over time, I learned about each of the alicorns, and what they controlled. There was Lord Ignis; Ruler of Fire, Lady Gaia; Queen of the Earth, Chronos; King of Time, Zephyr; Rider of Gales, Aquis; The Deep Diver, Necron; The Shade, Vita: The Light, and far too many other for me to keep track of.

Though the one who had garnered the most interest from me was Law, since he was able to explain my appearance in Equestria.

"You see," began the regal white pony, "While weak and infrequent, there are always surges of chaotic energy because young ponies enter a rebellious stage and start to worship Discord. However, with his recent revival and subsequent defeat, there has been an uprising in Chaos worshipers. They asked to bring a being of pure Chaos to Equestria, probably expecting to summon Discord..."

"But I was brought instead." I finished, "So, am I special, or is my luck that bad?"

He smiled at me, "I'd say it was likely the latter." He paused and looked at me, "John, do you want to go home?" My eyebrow cocked as I stared at him, "You see, enough ponies believe in the force of Law that I can send you back home, so long as it's what you want, but you'd end up losing all memory of your time in Equestria."

I looked at the white ground, "Is there a different option?"

Law nodded, "I can return you to Equestria, but there is practically no chance of an opportunity like this to come again." He turned and his horn glowed, two rifts opening. One looked into some sort of green fluid with vaguely pony shaped shadows passing in front on occasion. The other portal looked onto a familiar sight that made my heart ache: My room, still in the same mess I left it in.

I looked at Law, "Time does not have hold here, make your choice when you are ready." He said, stepping away. I sat down and stared at the two rifts in front of me, stuck between what I wanted, and my word to protect.

((Riiiighto, long time, loong time since I posted. Anywho, I have a seperate story in the works and I'll post THAT one on FimFiction, so yeah, look it up if you can, my username will be the same... So yeah, do that, I guess... I need some aspirin...))


	10. Waking Up

I was lucky that time held no meaning in the Aether, as I lost track of how long I had been sitting in front of the two portals. Other alicorns had come by while I was thinking and I grew familiar with them, even earning some smalls friendships with my usual wit and charm.

"... You know what bothered me about Equestria most?" I said, breaking a long silence and startling poor old Chronos, "The smells. I suppose its because smell is linked almost directly to memory, but I've always had a fondness for smells. A warm meal, my own room, clean laundry, that kind of stuff." Chronos was giving me a kind stare behind his busy white eyebrows, "In Equestria there were all these different and unfamiliar odors just assaulting me all the time. Even the apples smelled different, not by much, but there was this sort of edge to them that I didn't have back home." Chronos huffed sympathetically, "You know what smell I miss more than anything though?" I looked over at the wizened old alicorn as he tilted his head, "Sleeping dogs." His head tilted a tiny bit more, "I had a couple of dogs at home and I would, more often than not, come home to an empty house, but I would always find them snoozing away in a sunbeam, content with the world." I turned back to the portals, "I'd walk up as quiet as possible, kneel down, and kiss the tops of their heads. The smell always wafted up into my nose and I grew to love it because it reminded me of home, love, and just... It was familiar, y'know?" I paused for a while, "There's a lot of things I miss about my home..." I trailed off, staring into the portal. I could pick out the details that I had spent years committing to memory, the corners that I dodged around at night, the exact spot where the snooze button was for when my alarm went off in the mornings, even the odd hole in the wall from posters I had hung up, "But," I began, "Here I have... purpose, I have a duty." I looked over at Cronos, now a young colt, "And I made a promise. I told Berry and Ruby that I'd come back." I stood up and walked over to the portal back to Equestria, "Tell Law I said thanks." I said over my shoulder as I stepped through.

.

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The first thing I noticed was the fluid that was all around me, invading my eyes, mouth, and nose. Instinct had me flailing, trying to find some way out. Due to what I can only call dumb luck, one hand was able to tear through the apparently thin membrane that had I was encapsulated in. As soon as I hit the ground, my body began to violently eject the slime I had been suspended in. After a few minutes of what I considered a full body enema, I looked up and tried to gauge where I might be. Though blurry at first, my vision was quick to reassert itself and I saw that I was in some sort of cave, though obviously not natural, given how rounded it was. That and the dozens of softly glowing pods attached to the walls and ceiling gave away that this was not a normal occurrence. I stood up on shaky legs and walked over to one of the pods, a theory in mind but in need of testing. Looking in I found that I was, unfortunately, correct. Inside was Trixie, suspended in what I could only guess was the same goo I just expelled all over the floor of the cave. I was relieved to see slight twitches in her legs and behind her eyes, signaling that she was, at least, alive. I noticed her armor was missing and, looking down, I saw that mine was gone as well, along with all of my clothes. I looked back at the pod I had been trapped in, thinking back to the portals, back to my home. With the thought of my old life, a lot of old unpleasant memories came to mind. Crippling loneliness, months of cold emptiness, staring at the blades I had collected, wanting it all to just stop...

I didn't have time to listen to old memories as a soft tapping noise started getting closer from farther in the cave. I dove behind a pod, facing the direction the tapping was coming from. Whatever it was was pony shaped, but the glow coming from the pods wasn't enough for me. I put a hand on the floor of the cave, drawing small stones to me as quietly as possible, forming them around my hand. A few moments later, the pony shaped thing had walked up to the pod I escaped from and I had a loose approximation of a stone glove. The thing was looking at the cocoon intently, so I took the opportunity and jumped onto its back, striking at the back of its head with my stone fist. With a muffled thud, the thing fell to the ground, hopefully unconscious. I dragged the body over to one of the larger pods, to see what I could learn about my captors, though what I learned surprised me.

The thing, whatever it was, was like an insect version of a pony, a pegasus actually. Instead of fur, it had some sort of semi-hard carapace, and its wings were reminiscent of a dragonfly's. The strangest thing about it were the hole in its legs and wings, almost like it had rotted or been eaten away. Using the stones around my hand I made stone rings that would bind its wings and legs without crushing anything. I looked over to the green goo I had been suspended in and put my hand in it, smiling internally as it began to shift under my magical exertions. I gathered some up into a ball and splashed it on the insect-pony's face, causing it to sputter as it woke up.

I watched as it took in it situation, then put a hand on its muzzle, "If you try to shout," I began, giving it a cold glare, "I will rip your wings out. If you keep trying to resist, I will break your limbs. If you keep trying at that point, I will kill you." I saw it gulp, "You will answer my questions and I will only knock you out, provided you cooperate, are we clear?" It nodded behind my hand, "Good. First off, where am I?" I removed my hand, but kept it close in case the thing decided to try and be smart.

It glared at me, "In the mountainz north of Equeztria." It replied, with something akin to a mix between a buzz and a lisp.

"Alright, what are you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

It chuckled, "We are Changelingz, and we are many." It sneered at me, so I tightened the ring around its wings to remind it who was in charge.

"Where's the rest of my team?" I growled.

The Changeling was wincing as the stone ring tightened around its wings, "Whatz left of them are in here."

I snatched it up by its neck, "What do you mean whats left?!" I demanded, pulling it close to my face.

It sneered again, "We feed off of poniez, and zometimez they wither away." It chuckled, "All thatz left now are the red one and the loud one." I laughed until I tightened my grip on its neck.

I could feel the cold numbness that came with extreme rage, "I won't break you Changeling," I put my hand in the large puddle of goo beside me, shaping it around my arm, "But you will suffer." I held up an arm covered in goo, "You know, in my world, they say the worst way to die is by drowning." I put my goo covered hand over its muzzle as its eyes widened. I smiled softly as I began to force the glowing fluid into it's nostrils and mouth, and I could feel the goo as it began to flow down the Changeling's throat, into it's lungs.

The only sound in the cave was the quiet choking of the Changeling, but that slowly tapered off into silence. I dropped the body, glowing goo coming out of its mouth and nostrils, making a small puddle on the floor of the cave. I stepped over it as I walked over to the pod where I saw Trixie, pondering what I could do. The pod was securely attached to the cave wall, and I doubted I could even lift the damn thing if I wanted to, let alone her and Big Mac. I looked over to the Changeling corpse and pulled the stone rings from it, forming them into a crude point. While it lacked an edge, I was hoping it would puncture the membrane that surrounded her.

"Clever, though I'd advise against that, were I you." Came a voice from behind me. I quickly turned around, spike at the ready, as I saw a larger changeling, flanked by two unicorn changelings. She was larger than Luna, probably around Celestia's size, but much more slender. She shared traits with other changelings, or so I assumed, those mainly being the holes in her legs, though she had some in her mane as well. It reminded me of old cloth that had been eaten by moths, but what stood out to me the most was her horn, though calling it a horn could be inaccurate. I was long, black, and looked like jagged stone, it didn't seem... natural. She looked down at the corpse on the floor and cocked an eyebrow, "I see you aren't one for making friends." She commented coldy.

I smirked, "Not when they eat my teammates." I replied, sizing up the situation. At best, I could flick my stone spike and take out one of the guards, but that would leave me at a major disadvantage.

She cocked her eyebrow higher, "My my, I'm surprised enough to see you out of your pod and awake, but to have retained the ability to speak? You are a wonder." She looked down at the corpse again, then gestured with a hoof. One of the guards stepped forward, horn glowing, making me flinch, but his magic was directed at the body. He lifted it, then walked back out of the cave, body in tow.

I looked at the large Changeling, finally taking in that she was their version of an Alicorn, "Let the rest of my team go." I demanded, internally scrambling for ideas.

She brought a hoof to her chin, "Hmmm, no." Fuck, "However," Oh? "I will let them out of their pods, on one condition." She looked at me with a smirk.

I stood ready, eyes on her and the guard, "Which is?" I asked cautiously, not ready at all to trust her.

She gave a practiced, sultry smile, "You let us study you." She stepped forward, making me back up into a pod, "We've not encountered something that fed us as well as you did." She kept stepping forward, her eyes, like a snakes, locked onto mine, "I want to know why you were able to." She was less than an arms-length away from me, looking down into my eyes.

I growled, looking up at her, "What are you?" I hissed, knuckles white around the stone spike I held.

She laughed softly, a green flame rising from her hooves, over her entire body. All of a sudden, Celestia stood in front of me, another wave of green fire left Luna, and a third wave returned her to her original form, "I am Queen Chrysalis, matriarch of the Changeling Horde."

((I return... somewhat. For those who still read this, thank the fact that this site still sends me updates as to people messaging me and what not, because someone asked me to continue, so I did.

So, here it is, a new chapter, give me your thoughts and I may or may not reply. Hell, I might even make a new chapter.

-Exanora))


	11. Love and Compromise

I glared at the back of her head as she turned around and walked away, "Come along then, the sooner your... team, will be freed." She glanced back at me, "Though, I will keep them captive, of course. To ensure that you behave." She added with a smile. I growled and followed her, keeping the stone spike in my hand. I wasn't willing to trust her and was ready to take her out if the need were to arise. I found her standing outside the mouth of the cave, looking at me with a mixture of boredom, interest, and mild irritation, sort of like secretary looks at a man with a strange hair-cut. I looked out at the sight in front of me, ignoring the smirk Chrysalis wore as my face betrayed my amazement. It was obvious we were still underground, probably inside the mountain, but it had been hollowed out to make room for the city I was looking at. There were buildings carved from the stone itself, but there were others made from what looked like the black chitin that covered the changelings. Speaking of which, changelings were flying in the air, walking along what were obviously roads, I even spotted smaller changelings.

I looked over at Chrysalis, eyebrow cocked, "Your Horde?" I asked, stepping beside her as we began to walk. She gave a satisfied snort as we continued walking upward, the path leading to a room that was carved into a massive stalactite hanging from the cave roof. When my pace slowed, I could feel something pushing me in front of her, and I saw Chryalis' horn glowing a sickly green. I growled softly, resuming our previous pace towards our goal. We stepped into a room filled with various vials, brews, potions, what have you, and Chrysalis began barking out orders. Changelings filed into the room from other attached rooms, quick to heed her commands, which seemed to consist of having her subjects poke at me, take measurements, scan me with magic, and generally be invasive and rather rude towards my person. I took it all in stride, though more than one of the changelings had received a glare that could crack a stone in two, but I bore it because, despite my better judgment, I trusted Chrysalis to keep her word and free Trixie and Big Mac.

Hours later, I was told to sit down in a separate room and wait for somepony to come in. I was more than happy to leave the changelings to whatever it was they were doing, they seemed eager enough to start working with whatever it it they found out about me. The room I was moved to had nothing more than a flat stump of rock sitting in the middle, which I promptly sat on, careful not to slide off from the slime still clinging to me. An older changeling walked in, though I might have been wrong. I only guessed it was older based on its larger frame and slower gait as compared to the others I had seen so far. What followed was an odd interrogation, as the changeling asked me a lot pertaining to my romantic past, including how many partners I had, how long each relationship lasted, how close I was to my family and past partners. Needless to say, I was rather confused about it all. I thought they had wanted to learn how I was able to feed them but, then again, I didn't know what it was they ate. I looked at the changeling that was interviewing me, noting the fangs and similarity to insects. Logic would dictate that they fed in a manner similar to insects, probably feeding off of the nutrients stored in a body. I thought back to the pods, probably similar to a spider wrapping up a fly to immobilize it. A vague idea in mind, I finished answering the questions I was asked.

"Hmm, ever the mystery, aren't we?" Said Chrysalis, an eyebrow raised as she walked in, "A mystery I plan to solve." She stepped over to me and traced the tip of her hoof over my tattoo, "Perhaps this mark?" She said, looking down at me as I glared at the wall in front of me, "Or could it be something deeper?" Her hoof trailed down to the middle of my chest.

"I want to see Trixie and Big Mac." I replied flatly, refusing to look at her.

"Perhaps you should ask more politely." Hissed Chrysalis, her eyes narrowing, "How about, "I'd like to see my friends, My Lady?" "

The force of my glare made her step back as I stood up, "Don't. Even. Dare." I growled, knuckles cracking as my hands balled into fists, "I have one Lady and She is more than you could ever hope to be." It took all of my willpower not to physically lash out at her, "Now," I exhaled slowly, "I would like to see my friends, Queen Chrysalis." I finished evenly.

She blinked, then gave a short, harsh laugh, "Were it not for our need to study you, I would have had you killed for an insult like that." She walked around behind me, "But, for now, I will just lock you up beside your friends." She walked towards the exit, "At least, whats left of them." she said over her shoulder, looking back at me with one serpentine eye. I won't lie, a small bundle of concern settled in my stomach when she said that, but I followed her closely as my concern for my team outweighed my dread. She led me through a series of rooms and hallways inside of the stalactite structure, getting closer to the point at the bottom.

We finally arrived at what must have been a dungeon, or a series of holding cells that had been carved from the stone, lit up by glowing crystals that I had seen placed throughout the entire structure. I saw two shapes occupying the same cell and ran past Chrysalis, eagerness and concern driving me towards the shapes. What I saw though, wasn't Trixie and Big Mac, it was but... They looked hollow. Both of them had turned to look at me but their eyes lacked life, their coats even looked duller and washed out. Even the way they moved was like they didn't want to use their muscles.

I turned to Chrysalis, "What did you do to them?" I asked, my mind desperately searching for a solution.

She gave a shrug and raised a hoof, "We prepared them in order to feed. To interrupt the process results in..." She waved her hoof at Trixie and Big Mac, "That. It makes them utterly useless afterward, since putting them back in a pod doesn't do a thing."

I knelt and looked at my two friends, "What do you even feed off of? What sort of preparations would do this?" I asked, a hand wrapping around a bar.

I could hear her smile, "Ah, I never told you, did I?" She gave a soft giggle, "We feed off of emotions, love in particular." I heard her walk up beside me, "We look at their memories and construct their version of a perfect world, along with a perfect partner." I looked up at her, "This, in turn, will produce the positive emotions that my Horde and myself will feed on." She flicked her head, causing her mane to shift and rest across the back of her neck, "They live out a full life in this fantasy world, including their own deaths, at which point the body simply gives up, the mind thinking it has gone though an entire lifetime." She shrugged, "Some last longer than others, you three have actually lasted the longest by far." Her horn glowed and I felt myself being lifted, "Now, you will be kept here until we have need of you again." She placed me in the cell beside Trixie and Big Mac, the stone bars locking into place via what I assume is magic.

I looked around the cell as she walked away, the sound of her hooves growing faint as she left. Sparse was an apt description for the room: A raised stone slab with a sheet made a bed, a stone dish was fed a constant trickle of water, and a hole for more personal business, complete with a fungus that seemed to grow in thin sheets. It had everything I would need to live there, for the short term anyway. I decided that a few hours of actual sleep, and not suspended animation, would do my frazzled mind some good.

I found myself in a moonlit field, surrounded on all sides by short grass and wild flowers, a full moon hanging high in the sky above. I was surprised, most of my dreams were quickly forgotten, if acknowledged at all. I looked around and saw a shadow pooling in front of me, shaping itself into something vaguely pony shaped. As soon as it had four legs and a head, it began to rise from the ground, turning into a three dimensional creature. It tackled me to the my my back, its face close to mine as more details began to take shape.

"-hn! John!"

I gave a lazy smile, "Huh, so I'm dreaming of Luna?" I chuckled, "Hope berry never finds out, might get jealous."

The shadow turned Luna glared at me, "It's actually me you twit." She snapped, "Where have you been?!"

I blinked and sat up, "But I'm asleep, dreaming... Ah, Princess of the Night, dream walking, makes sense." I pinched the bridge of my nose, "I'm in the mountains north of Equestria, if my latest victim is to be believed."

Luna got off my chest and looked at me, "Victim?"

My mind went to the Changeling I had forcibly drowned and, suddenly, it appeared in the grass beside me. I nodded at the leaking corpse, "That's it."

Luna took a look at it, cocking her eyebrow as she looked at me, "A Changeling?" I nodded, "Then you are in their hive..." A hoof went to her chin, "How fares the rest of the Dusk Brigade?"

I looked down, "Aside from myself, Big Mac, and Trixie, they're dead, and the other two can only be loosely called alive." I stood up fully and looked at Luna, "For now, I'll focus on getting back."

Luna nodded, "John, I have to tell you-"

I opened my eyes and found myself back in the cell, voices whispering outside my cell.

"My Queen, while unfortunate, the lozz of the zouth nurzery cannot be avoided, even if thiz... thing were to help." Said a buzzing voice.

"And yet we must try." replied Chrysalis, "I will not suffer to lose more of my kind." I heard her open the door to my cell and closed my eyes, keeping my breathing even as her magic lifted me and dropped me to the floor, "Wake up." I opened my eyes and glared at her, "I've need of you." She said, returning my glare with a cool gaze.

I stood up, wrapping the thin sheet around my waist, "There are nicer ways to wake a person up." I walked out of the cell, "Also, could I get my clothes? Its freezing in this hive of yours."

Chrysalis tutted, "Those ways aren't nearly as effective." She turned, "Fetch his clothes, you know where to bring them." She said to the changeling behind her. It ran off quickly as she turned back to me, "Come, we are about to see how useful you can be."

Her horn glowed and I felt the same sense of crushing dark that came with teleportation. A moment later I was kneeling in the middle of a room filled with what looked like eggs. Thankfully, this bout of spatial dislocation didn't include me getting sick all over the floor, "So, what do you want me to do?" I asked, looking more closely at the room around me. The eggs were an off white, around size of a beachball, and I could see small shadows shifting inside them.

Chrysalis walked over to one of the eggs and gently put a hoof on it, "... Save them." She said, her voice small, "Please."

I looked over at her, "What do you mean? How do you expect me to save them?" I asked.

She sat down, her tattered mane covering her eyes, "While we had you... tucked away, you produced enough love to feed my changelings in ways they haven't experienced in years." She looked at me, her eyes wet, "That love has run out and these infants will die soon because we can't feed them." Her eyes fell, "I can't lose more, we can't handle it."

I looked at her, then at the eggs and sighed, "Goddess damn my bleeding heart." I put a hand on one of the eggs, "Only because their innocent." I said softly. I smiled despite myself, as I felt the little life inside kicking. Closing my eyes, I pushed away the thoughts of the Changelings, my imprisonment, Big Mac, Trixie, all of it, and I just focused on loving the lives that were spread around me, the futures they could have, the simple fact that they could live with my help. I loved them with all that I was, as I was taught to do by My Lady. I could feel the little life inside the egg moving more excitedly as I opened my eyes and reattached myself to the world, only to find two serpentine eyes looking at me.

Chrysalis held me gaze for a moment before I felt myself being pulled by a pair of hooves, "Thank you." She said, hugging me close, "Thank you." I could feel her shaking as she began to cry softly. A part of me wanted to take advantage of the moment and eliminate her, from there I could get Trixie and Big Mac, then escape as quickly as possible. What I did was wrap my arms around her neck and return the hug, humming softly. I saw all the eggs in the cavern were glowing faintly, the little shadows inside twitching and kicking with the signs of life. The sight filled me with a soft warmth, a sort of satisfaction, and I knew that I wouldn't regret my decision.

A few moments later, Chrysalis pulled away, "You've no idea how much this means to me and my hive." She said, wiping her eyes with a hoof, "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

I sighed and rubbed my neck, "There's a lot you could do." I stood up and stretched, one hand holding up the sheet around my waist, "For now, I'll just list off some things and we can hash out how it'll work out." She nodded, giving me her full attention, "To start, I'd like to send the remains of my team back to their respective families." I paused for a second as I thought about them, "They deserve that much. Next, I'd like to send Trixie and Big Mac back to Canterlot, see if they could get some help. I'd also like my stuff back. Clothes, armor, weapons, the whole deal. And finally, I'd like to go home," I sighed and smiled, "My girls are waiting for me, and I can't bear the thought of them worrying." I chuckled.

Chrysalis tilted her head as she pondered my requests, then sighed, "Under different circumstances, I would deny all those immediately, however..." She looked out over all of the eggs that were glowing happily, "We shall see."


End file.
